President Ram Nath Kovind to inaugurate Biju museum in Odisha’s Cuttack

Bhubaneswar:  President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the museum-cum-learning Centre at Anand Bhawan, the ancestral house of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik in Cuttack.

This was confirmed after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met the President at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi today.

“I had just been to invite the President. He has agreed to inaugurate the Anand Bhawan in Cuttack either on March 17th or 18th. It will be a museum-cum-learning centre in memory of Biju Babu,”  the CM told reporters at his residence in the national capital.

Worth mentioning, Naveen and his brother Prem, in January, 2015, had donated the property to the district administration to convert it into a museum dedicated to the charismatic leader.

The State government has spent around Rs 1.1 crore on renovation of the building and for its beautification.

Sources said that Biju Patnaik’s rare photographs, furniture, clothes and household items will be displayed in the museum. A number of documents about Biju’s adventurous life will also be preserved in the proposed museum.

Anand Bhawan was constructed by Biju’s father Laxminarayan Patnaik in 1900s where Biju was born on March 5, 1916. He was very fond of it, the source added.

The Chief Minister also presented a book “The Tall Man Biju Patnaik” to the President. The book authored by Sundar Ganesan is a monumental work on the legendary leader.

The President thanked Patnaik for his unique gesture and accepted the invitation to dedicate Anand Bhawan to the people of Odisha.