Odisha to install statues of 21 personalities, unsung heroes

BHUBANESWAR: State govt has decided to install statues of 21 eminent personalities and unsung heroes in different parts of Odisha this year.

They include a 150-ft-high statue of tribal leader Birsa Munda, which will be the centrepiece of a proposed mega memorial park in Sundargarh district. The park will also feature an interpretation centre showcasing Birsa Munda’s life history and the contributions of other tribal freedom fighters. Among the other personalities whose statues will be built are VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and tribal leaders Tama Dora and Ratna Nayak.

The foundation stone for the Birsa Munda Memorial will be laid on Nov 15, marking his 150th birth anniversary, and the park is set to be unveiled a year later on Nov 15, 2025.

PM Modi to lay foundation stone

PM Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone for the memorial and address a public meeting in Rourkela.

“His (Birsa Munda’s) statue, various facilities along with an interpretation centre on Bhagwan Birsa Munda narrating the life history of Birsa Munda as well as the contribution of other tribal freedom fighters will be part of the memorial park,” minutes of a meeting chaired by chief minister Mohan Majhi on Oct 8 read.

Govt has identified a site at Kuanrmunda for the proposed memorial park, the sources added.

A statue selection committee meeting chaired by Odia language, literature and culture minister Suryabanshi Suraj recently decided the location for the other 20 statues, most of which would be 10-ft-high each. Govt has allocated an estimated expenditure of Rs 2 crore for the 20 statues, although the budget for the Birsa Munda memorial has not yet been disclosed.

Statue of Laxmanananda, who was assassinated on Aug 23, 2008, will come up either in Bhubaneswar or Cuttack, the committee’s decision revealed.

A statue of Baji Rout, who was shot dead by the British for refusing them a boat ride in 1938, will come up at his native place Bhuban in Dhenkanal district. First Odia Sankaracharya Sridhar Swami’s statue will be installed in either Bhubaneswar or Balasore, while statues of Vajpayee will be placed in Cuttack and Sambalpur, minutes of the committee’s meeting read.

Freedom fighter Dharam Singh Mandhata Majhi’s statue will be installed at his native place Athgaon in Balangir district, and Ratna Nayak, a tribal leader who was hanged for his community’s refusal to accept a British-imposed king, will have a statue in his native district of Keonjhar.

Tama Dora, a tribal freedom fighter from the Koya community who led the Koya revolution against the British and the king of Koraput in the 1870s, will have a statue at his native place Kondapalli in Malkangiri district.