Sambalpur: The district administration felicitated Alex Tanner, daughter of R.C.S. Bell, who had worked as deputy commissioner of Sambalpur during the British period, here on Tuesday.

Tanner presented a book - Recreation of an Indian official - written by her father about his memories mentioning various places of India, Odisha and Sambalpur to the collector, Samarth Verma. She said two chapters in the book had been written about Sambalpur.

Bell had been the deputy commissioner from 1938 to 1941. Tanner had spent her childhood with her parents here. "I have an attachment for the land and the people of this place. That is the reason why I have come here with my husband David Tanner," she said.

Recollecting her stay in Odisha, Tanner said after spending three years here in 1941 her father was transferred to Koraput.

During her current visit to the state, she witnessed the Republic Day parade in Koraput, met the officials and discussed various issues.

She said that during her two-day stay here, she visited the Hirakud dam, Nildungri farm and other tourist places.

Tanner had come to Sambalpur in 1952, along with her father. During that time, Hirakud dam construction work was in progress. Her father had taken many photographs of Sambalpur, especially of the construction work.

"My father used to talk about the beautiful scenic beauty of Odisha and Sambalpur, and especially the Mahanadi river. He loved the simplicity in the people here," she said.

Soon after Independence, Bell's family left for Australia and settled there. "My father was so much attached to India and this place. He used to always talk about India. As a result, his friends in Australia called him as Indian," Tanner said.