The 65th Republic Day was celebrated across Odisha with gaiety and enthusiasm on Sunday amidst tightened security in view of a boycott call by Maoists.
Governor S C Jamir unfurled the tri-colour at the main function on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bhubaneswar, while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did so at the historic Barabati stadium in Cuttack.
Patnaik in his speech urged the people to work with commitment to ensure speedy development as a developed India as well as a prosperous Odisha was the goal. Democracy had been strengthened in the country over the years since Independence and balanced development and progress would ensure proper empowerment of all sections of the society and enable everyone, including the poor to live with dignity.
While people's faith in democracy had grown, the administration has also become responsive, Patnaik said and asked the people work sincerely to protect democratic and secular values. Tight security arrangements had been made in Maoist-hit Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Gajapati and Nuapada districts in view of the boycott call by the ultras.
No untoward incident was, however, reported from anywhere in the state. Suspected Maoists put up black flags in some pockets of Chitrakonda and Kalimela areas in Malkangiri district, the sources said.
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