Bhubaneswar: The state capital celebrated its 78th Foundation Day with a series of events lined up throughout Monday, as well as with a pledge for making the city cleaner, greener and safer. The day started with the state function — inaugurated by assembly speaker Surama Padhy in the morning — in which mayor Sulochana Das and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi also participated.The function was organised in front of the state assembly, along Mahatma Gandhi Marg (PMG Square), also known as Foundation Square, which was illuminated on the occasion.A civilian march past was organised, while the speaker, as the chief guest, took the salute. Students from private and govt schools participated in the parade. Bhubaneswar MP, mayor, Bhubaneswar municipal commissioner Chanchal Rana, corporators, legislators and the members of the Capital Foundation Day Celebration Committee paid their respects at the foundation plaque, officials said.The speaker said, “On this occasion, let’s decide that Bhubaneswar, an education, sports and tourism hub, develops further in other sectors as well. We want Bhubaneswar to be cleaner and greener. We want that it provides a safer environment to the scores of students who come here for higher and professional education.”Das said the 78-year-old capital has traversed a path that has witnessed several dimensions on the development front. “We are celebrating the pride connected to our commitment to develop it into a world-class city in future,” mayor Das said.Besides the parade, impressive sporting skills were also showcased by the Daredevils group and Odisha Skating Association. A photo exhibition was also organised by Information and Public Relations Department at Jayadev Bhavan.In the evening, Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati attended a special function as chief guest and conferred Rajdhani Gourav samman (capital pride honour) on 13 people from different fields such as education, health, traffic, industry, film and acting, administration, social work, games and cleanliness. A colourful cultural programme was also presented by the department of culture.According to sources, German planner Otto Koenigsberger had planned the modern Bhubaneswar in 1948.From the modern city plan to getting the smartest city tag, Bhubaneswar has become the most ideal tourist, health and education hub. In 2016, it became the number one smart city in the country following the Centre’s evaluation of 98 cities that competed to get the tag.
