While the whole world is celebrating January 1 as the English New Year on Wednesday with much fanfare, the Utkal Sammilani on Tuesday urged the Odia people also to celebrate April 14 as Odia New Year by observing Maha Vishuva Sankranti, popularly known as “Pana” Sankranti also the birth anniversary of lord Hanuman.
Reminding the Odia people about their cultures and traditions, Sammilani Mancheswar Industrial estate branch president Dillip Dashsharma in a Press release said, “There is no problem or anxiety to observe January 1 as English New Year. But the Odia people do not forget their new year which will fall on April 14, 2014.” “We all Odia should promote our traditions, cultures and heritages of our own by observing our Odia festivals,” appealed Dashsharma.