The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) founder Achyuta Samanta on Sunday unveiled the statue of Biju Patnaik on the KISS campus in Bhubaneswar on his 107th birth anniversary.

Speaking on the occasion, Samanta paid his deepest respect to Biju Patnaik who is admired as the architect of modern Odisha and was known for his vision and versatility.

“Today the entire state is celebrating the late leader’s birth anniversary. His contribution to the development of Odisha is immense. We are paying our respect to his life and work with the unveiling of this statue,” he said.

Samanta said Patnaik had a dream of empowering the tribals and women by offering them education here in Bhubaneswar. “We have fulfilled his desire with the establishment of KISS to provide education to the tribal students”.