Mahatma Gandhi statue unveiled in Odisha village

Kendrapara: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at Dhumat village in Odisha's Kendrapara district where the Father of the Nation stayed during his padayatra in 1934.

Kendrapara MLA and former minister Sashibhusan Behera unveiled the statue on Tuesday night on the occasion of the 89th anniversary of Gandhiji’s visit to Dhumat on May 30, 1934.

To remind people of the significance of the 1934 padayatra and highlight the Mahatma's role in the freedom struggle, the gram panchayat of Indupur built the fibre statue.

People from various walks of life paid rich tribute to the father of the nation who stayed in Dhumat village on May 30, 1934, during his padayatra. The meeting was organized by the district freedom fighters’ Association and the district administration.

Mahatma Gandhi took a bath while sitting on a stone at Dhumat village during his padayatra. Some villagers carried water from the nearby river in buckets and Gandhiji took a bath while sitting on the stone at Dhumat.

This stone is preserved in the place where Mahatma took a bath. A pedestal and the half-bust statues of Gandhiji and Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das were built near the bathing stone of the Father of Nation.

"We are lucky that the Father of Nation had visited our riverside nondescript village. People here worship the bathing stone (Gandhi Sila) and the pedestal," said Dr Biranchi Narayan Jagdev, a retired physician of Dhumat.

"The padayatra by Gandhiji was one of the most important events in the country’s freedom struggle. Gandhi also allowed Dalits to enter the temples in some villages during his long walk in Odisha in 1934", said Bhajakrushna Rout, a retired school teacher of the district in the meeting.

During his 1934 padayatra, Gandhi had spent five days in Kendrapara district and toured different places. Among those who had accompanied Gandhi were Meera Ben, Gopabandhu Choudhury, Rajkrushna Bose, Rama Devi, a German youth K Kuto, Uma Bajaj, Binod Kanungo, Surendranath Pattnayak, Manmohan Choudhury, Jadumani Mangaraj and many others, said Dr Basudev Das a researcher of Kendrapara.

Villagers of Dhumat, Indupur and nearby areas took a plunge into the freedom struggle in response to a call given by Gandhi after the visit of Gandhi to their villages.

In memory of Mahatma Gandhi, a thatched Ashram was also built in 1938. But in the super cyclone in 1999 October the Ashram had been completely damaged, added Dr Das.