The Utkal Mahotsav will be held at Khariar Road of Nuapada district on April 1. Various competitions like song, debate, dance and quiz on subjects related to Utkal Divas were organised among students on March 27.
likewise, competitions of women on preparations of local dishes were also held. The winners would be awarded on the occasion of Utkal Divas observation.
Organising Utkal Divas at Khariar Road, which is located adjacent to the Chhattisgarh is significant, because a majority of people in this part of Odisha speak laria (Chhattisgari) language.
“When the people here are gradually distancing themselves from Odia language and culture, organising the Mahotsav is an effort towards bringing a sense love within the people here,” said organising committee president Suresh Achari.
When Nuapada district was constituted as a separate district in 1993, there was a demand from the laria speaking people to name the district as Nayapara, which had been opposed by local people here. People like AV Swami (Rajya Sabha member at present) and some other learned people of Khariar had vehemently opposed such move at that time.
Considering the sentiment of a majority of people of the district, the then Sub-Collector of Nuapada suggested the Government to retain the Odia name. It is also significant that, people of this area had played an important role in unification of Khariar region including Nuapada in 1936 in Odisha. Naming of some schools as Utkala Bandhu or Gopabandhu is one of the significant steps taken by the people and the then administration to create Odia feeling in Nuapada and Khariar regions. The Utkala Mahotsav, it is hoped, would be a step forward.