"Bande Utkala Janani” gets state anthem status in Odisha

The Odisha Cabinet approved a proposal to give state anthem status to ”Bande Utkala Janani”.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh said that the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accorded state anthem status to ”Bande Utkala Janani”.
This patriotic poem was written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra in 1912. It was the opening song of Utkal Sammilani during the fight for the formation of a separate province.