Bhubaneswar, July 28: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik presided over the first ever condolence meeting at the state secretariat today.

The programme was, of course, in the memory of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

"He (Kalam) had a special relationship with Odisha and Biju babu (former chief minister Biju Patnaik). He had visited our state several times as a scientist, as President and even after his presidency. He was always in the heart of the people of Odisha," said Naveen.

Ministers and top bureaucrats, including chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati, attended the meeting.In Puri, sand artists Sudarshan Patnaik and Subal Maharana also remembered Kalam through their creations.

All educational institutions in the state remained closed in honour of the leader, who had endeared the youth and children by his inspiring speeches. His popularity among schoolchildren could be gauged from the fact that many of them had described him as their role model in the Young Metro column of The Telegraph.

Students of various schools and colleges across the state paid tributes to Kalam. The students of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, organised a candlelight march on their campus. The students of Utkal University also conducted a similar ceremony.

A 21-year-old orphaned woman from the remote Olaver village in Kendrapara district remembered the compassionate gesture of the late President towards her HIV positive siblings. "For me, he was a saviour. My younger brother and sister are HIV/AIDS carriers. They are alive today only because of the timely intervention of Kalam uncle," said the woman who did not want to be named.

Kalam had also touched the hearts of doctors at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. He had visited KIIT University several times, addressed the convocation ceremony of Sambalpur University. He was scheduled to visit IIT-Bhubaneswar in September.

"We are organising special health camps and trying to create awareness among the schoolchildren about the health consciousness as mentioned in Vision 2020 of APJ Abdul Kalam," said head of the surgery department in the premier hospital Rasananda Madhual.

"Our motto is gaon chalo (go to village), improve the health conditions of the poorest of the poor in the rural areas and let the rural people know what Kalam thinks for India and its people as a great visionary," said Mangual, who, along with some like-minded doctors, launched Mission Kalam in 2004 to create awareness among the public, especially school and college students about cancer. Very few know about Kalam's love for the environment. He encourage plantation at the Interim Test Range campus in Chandipur and established a bird sanctuary there known as Nisarg. A variety of birds, including the Siberian crane, are seen there.

Additional reporting by Manoj Kar in Kendrapara, Sunil Patnaik in Berhampur and Sibdas Kundu in Balasdore