Umerkote:Jan 29: The annual celebration and felicitation ceremony of the Nabarangpur District Kinnar Association was held with great pomp and grandeur at the Kalyan Mandap in Umerkote town of Nabarangpur district.
The program was conducted under the अध्यक्षता of District Kinnar Association President Manoj Kumar Pattnaik. Odisha’s Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for School & Mass Education, and ST & SC Development and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Shri Nityananda Gond, attended as the Chief Guest. He inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp.
Among the distinguished guests were Additional District Magistrate Bishwajit Chandra Barman, District Social Security Officer Sudhanshu Patra, senior social worker Ramesh Chandra Sahu, representative of Jharigaon विधायक Prasanna Mohanty, senior advocate Ram Nayak, senior social worker and chief advisor of the organization Jagannath Mohapatra, social worker and senior citizen Jayadev Parida, senior doctor Surendra Nath Das, vice-advisor and legal consultant Advocate Srinivas Pattnaik, association advisor Sharmishtha Deo, legal advisor Advocate Ram Prasad Patra, Kinnar Association President Kajal Kinnar, and Secretary Chumki Kinnar, among others.
Professor Utkal Kumar Bhatt welcomed the guests to the मंच and coordinated the event, while Secretary Chumki presented the annual report.
In his address, Chief Guest Minister Shri Gond stated that most of the issues faced by the kinnar community have been resolved and that the government is taking steps to address the remaining concerns in the coming days. Other guests expressed that if the various issues of the kinnars are resolved promptly, they will be able to move forward in step with modern society.
In his speech, President Manoj Kumar Pattnaik emphasized that identifying kinnars who are living hidden within society would help strengthen the organization further.
On this occasion, the District Kinnar Association honored distinguished institutions and individuals from various sections of society with certificates of appreciation and mementos presented by the guests. The local police station officer Ramakanta Sai was also present.
Social workers Manoj Kumar Padhi, Sajeev Subuddhi, Ninibabu Tripathy, Krishna Prasad Pattnaik, Gita Nanda, Manoj Dhal, Ravi Suna, Harish Behera and others extended their cooperation in organizing the event.
Hundreds of kinnars from all ten blocks of the district, as well as from neighboring Koraput district, participated in the program. Many intellectuals and prominent citizens of the Umerkote area were also present.