Chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the 169th birth anniversary celebration of Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das, the architect of modern Odisha, at Raj Bhavan Square in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Madhu babu was one of the founders of Utkal Sammilani, which spearheaded the movement for a separate Odisha province. After a sustained movement, Odisha was separated from Bihar-Orissa province and was declared a separate state on linguistic basis on April 1, 1936. The state government is celebrating the completion of the 80th year of Odisha this year.

The leader was the first barrister of Odisha and was therefore fondly called "Madhu Barrister". Das, who had founded Utkal Tannery, the first indigenous industry in Odisha, was a pioneer in industrialisation.

The state-level function was organised by the government and the Utkal Sammilani in the evening. Winners of debate and essay competition on the great leader were awarded prizes and certificates. A bhajan and patriotic song programme - Jaati Prema Banhi - was held at the end of the function.

Ama Odisha, a social service organisation working for the preservation and promotion of Odia language, organised a lecture on Odisha's heritage. Puri king Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb delivered the lecture.