Cuttack: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday dedicated Anand Bhavan - the two storey ancestral house of Biju Patnaik now restored into a museum - to the people.

Kovind likened Anand Bhavan in Cuttack with that in Allahabad which was "a camp to achieve freedom struggle where once leaders used to gather to chalk out strategies".

The President hailed the decision of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his family to donate the building to be developed into a museum.

Impressed by the artefacts on display at the museum, Kovind described Biju as a "multi-faceted personality".

"What struck me was that whatever he did was for the people of Kalinga, and his vision of physical fitness and women empowerment," he said while addressing a gathering at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

In his address on the occasion, Naveen described Biju babu as "a unique combination of courage and compassion, determination and dedication in his personality". Governor S.C. Jamir also graced the occasion.

A library-cum-learning centre has been developed in two rooms on the building's first floor.

Five rooms on the ground floor showcase artefacts, personal belongings and photographs of Biju Patnaik. Family photographs with some furniture, rare photographs on his political career, pictures and write-ups about his entrepreneurial ventures are on display behind glass partitions in the rooms.