In a sweeping cultural initiative, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has approved a ₹14 crore project to install statues of 75 legendary personalities across Odisha by the end of 2026.
Spearheaded by the Department of Odia Language, Literature & Culture, the project aims to honour icons from diverse fields—freedom fighters, poets, reformers, and tribal leaders—by placing their statues in public spaces, schools, and heritage sites.
From Bhakta Maneisahu in Puri to Bhima Bhoi in Sonepur, the list spans centuries of Odia pride. Notable inclusions range from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Gangadhar Meher, Sarala Devi, and Pathani Samanta. Each district will host figures who shaped its identity, fostering a renewed sense of cultural belonging.
This initiative is more than a tribute—it’s a statement. Odisha is reclaiming its narrative, one statue at a time.
Key Highlights
- Puri: Statues of Bhakta Maneisahu and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- Khurda: Honouring late Vishwanath Das, poets Sachchidananda Routaraya and Kuntala Kumari Sabat, freedom fighters like Veer Surendra Sae, Padma Shri Upendra Maharathi, Veer Sido Murmu and Kahnu Murmu, Ravi Ray, Binayak Acharya, Surendra Mahanti, Radhanath Rath, Lal Bahadur Shastri, late Hemananda Biswal, Pindiki Bahubalendra, Dharanidhar Nayak, and Lakshmikanta Mahapatra.
- Balasore: Poet laureate Radhanath Ray, Mukunda Prasad Das, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Khudiram Bose.
- Jagatsinghpur: National poet Vir Kishore Das, Sarala Das, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Mahesh Chandra Subahusingh.
- Nayagarh: Utkal Ghanta Jadumani Mahapatra, Pathani Samanta.
- Cuttack: Bhairab Mohanty, Sarala Devi, Rani Sukadevi, poet Chandracharan Kali Charan Pattnayak, Nilamani Vidyaratna, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, Gangadhar Meher.
- Bargarh: Kunja Bihari Das, Gangadhar Meher, Manohar Singh.
- Angul: B.R. Ambedkar, Nabakrishna Choudhury.
- Dhenkanal: Sarangdhar Das, Baji Rout.
- Bhadrak: Revolutionary Chakradhar Behera, martyr Niranjan Behera, Swami Vivekananda, Atal Bihari Vajpayee (in Dhussuri), Banchhanidhi Mohanty, Muralidhar Panda, Laxmikanta Mohapatra, and another of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (in Chandbali).
- Bolangir: Dr Harekrushna Mahatab, Gangadhar Meher.
- Ganjam: Dibakar Pattnayak, Upendra Bhanja, Baldev Rath, Jayamangal Rath, Saint Arakshita Das, Padma Shri Bhagaban Sahu, Harihar Mardraj, Chakara Bishoyi, martyr Bhagat Singh, Shashi Bhushan Rath.
- Sambalpur: Laxmanananda Saraswati, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, Veer Chhabildas Sae, Chandrashekhar Azad.
- Kendrapada: Madhusudan Das.
- Mayurbhanj: Pandit Raghunath Murmu, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- Koraput: Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
- Kalahandi: Rendo Majhi.
- Keonjhar: Ramadevi.
- Sonepur: Bhima Bhoi.
- Rayagada: Martyr Laxmana Naik.
