Bhubaneswar, Jan. 16: Famous sculptor and Padma Vibhushan recipient Raghunath Mohapatra has been appointed the president of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, the apex body in the field of art under the state government.

The culture department made the announcement today.

"I am extremely happy and feel blessed by Lord Jagannath for being chosen for the post," said the sculptor. He said he would try to make the Akademi active by hosting more events for artistes.

Mohapatra stressed on highlighting traditional art.

"Odisha is rich in traditional art, but that has always been neglected. Even during the preservation of ancient temples and monuments, the crafted stones were replaced by plain stones. We sculptors have the basic understanding of what could be missing in the damaged spots. Yet, we were not consulted at all," he said.

"Though many structures have been damaged beyond repair, there are many traditional art forms that can be saved even now. I will focus on the monuments in my new role."

In February 2014, Mohapatra had contested for the Rajya Sabha as an Independent candidate with outside support from the BJD. But, he lost to Ranjib Biswal of Congress.

"We have old monuments and must carry forward the legacy of our predecessors in this day and age. New monuments should be constructed that will be remembered in the future. But funds and getting raw materials are major concerns. I will have to wait and see if my dream comes true," said Mohapatra.

The art fraternity congratulated the sculptor.

"Raghunath sir is a great artist of our times and the art fraternity will surely benefit from his vision and ideas," said artist Meenaketan Patnaik.