CUTTACK, Mar 17:
President Ram Nath Kovind today dedicated to the people ‘Anand Bhawan’, the ancestral house of legendary Biju Patnaik, as a ‘Museum and Learning Centre’ here.
Kovind, who is on his maiden visit to Odisha as President, inaugurated the museum in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and a host of eminent dignitaries at a special function.
After inaugurating the museum, the President hailed the decision of the chief minister and his family to donate ‘Anand Bhawan’ to enable the people to visit.
‘Anand Bhawan’ is a double-storied 10-room building located at Tulasipur to be used as a place of learning equipped with a five-room museum in the ground floor and a two-room library in the first floor.
Stating that ‘Anand Bhawan’ was once a centre where strategies for freedom struggle were chalked out, Kovind said Biju Patnaik was among the world leaders who stood for dignity of women. The vision of the legendary leader revolved around physical fitness and empowerment and happiness of women, the President said.
Before inaugurating the museum, the President paid floral tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at his birth place in Cuttack.
Earlier, Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind, arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar and they were received among others by Governor S C Jamir and Naveen Patnaik.
Naveen Patnaik and his elder brother Prem Patnaik had donated this ancestral building, constructed by their grandfather Laxminarayan Patnaik in 1900, to the state government in January 2015 requesting the culture department of the government to convert the property spread over on an area of 38000 square feet into a place of learning centre.
Laxminarayan Patnaik, who started his career as a munsif and later went on to become Dewan of Paralakhemundi had constructed this house almost 120 years ago, where Biju Patnaik was born on March 5, 1916.
All the five rooms in the ground floor of the building have been renovated, each showcasing artifacts, personal belongings and photographs of Biju Patnaik. While the first room displays his family photos, the second room has rare pictures of his political career.
Being a first generation industrialist, Biju had started a chain of industrial houses under the Kalinga Industries Group. One of the rooms of the museum displays pictures and write-ups about his entrepreneurial ventures.
Similarly, two rooms in the first floor are converted into a library and learning centre. The state government has renovated the building by spending over Rs one crore, official sources said. (PTI)
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