Cuttack, June 16: An organisation consisting of former presidents and general secretaries of students' union of colleges has urged the state government to honour Odia singer and composer Akshaya Mohanty by naming the new bridge across Kathajodi river after him.
Odisha Student Leaders Forum (OSLF) urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to name the second bridge across the Kathajodi river after the legendary singer, lyricist and music director, who passed away in 2002. The forum has about 100 members.
The 2.88km bridge from near the Odisha Judicial Academy in Cuttack to Trishulia near Barang is the longest and first of its kind three-lane structure in the state. It will connect Cuttack city to Bhubaneswar and reduce travel time significantly.
"It all started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi named the 9.15km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Assam after music maestro late Bhupen Hazarika while inaugurating the longest bridge on the Brahmaputra river on May 26," said Ajay Mishra, former president of Ravenshaw College students' union (1985).
"The forum in a meeting on June 6 resolved to start a movement to name the new Kathajodi bridge as Akshaya Setu," Mishra said.
"Naming the bridge will be a great tribute to the versatile singer, who remained rooted to his land and still lives in the hearts of the Odia people through his songs," said Santosh Das, former president of M.S. Law College (1995).
Mohanty had written more than 4,000 songs, sung more than 8,000 songs, composed music in 106 feature films and lent his voice in 97 films. His literary works included 100 short stories (70 published), 12 novels (4 published) and an autobiography.
OSLF member and former president of Christ College students' union (1993) Deepak Nayak said: "We have already submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through the Cuttack district collector on June 13."
"The late Akshaya Mohanty was a versatile personality and his songs were linked to Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers. Hence, we demand that the state government to name the bridge after him as a mark of respect," OSLF said in the memorandum.
"We have also started a signature campaign to collect around 20,000 signatures. We will shortly seek an appointment with the chief minister and submit another memorandum to him," said Badri Mohanty, OSLF member and former president of Ravenshaw College students' union (1987).
The state work's department's roads and building division is constructing the bridge, which is expected to ease traffic congestion on national highway No-5, as it will reduce the distance between the twin cities from 30 km to 20 km.
"The bridge is almost ready. The government is expected to announce the inauguration date shortly," roads & buildings (Cuttack division) executive engineer Suryanarayan Mishra told The Telegraph today.
