The ceremony resonated with patriotic fervour, as attendees paid their heartfelt tributes to the countless sacrifices made by freedom fighters.

The 77th Independence Day was also celebrated in Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). As part of the festivities, OTDC Chairman Dr. Lenin Mohanty unfurled the National Flag at Panthanivas Bhubaneswar and addressed the gathering. Divisional Heads, Officers & Staff of OTDC attended the celebrations. The Independence Day celebration at the Department of Tourism and OTDC united citizens in the spirit of patriotism and camaraderie.

“The promise for change brought me here, my performance brought me here once again. It is Modi’s guarantee that in the next five years, India will become one among top three nation in terms of economy. It is a golden moment to realise the dream of India as a developed nation by 2047,” he said while referring to the countrymen as ‘parivarjan’ (family members).

He said that the country stands with violence-ravaged Manipur. “Path for solution in Manipur will be found through peace. The Centre is making all efforts for a solution and will continue to do so.”

PM Modi also announced launch of ‘Vishwakarma Yojana’ next month, on Vishwakarma Jayanti. with an allocation of Rs 13,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore for those with traditional skills. “Our goal is to strengthen the economy, empower the people, and make India a developed country”.

He further said the government will soon launch the scheme for middle-class families living in cities but do not own a house.

He lauded the contributions of women self-help groups and stressed that will women-led development would take the country forward. “It is my dream to make two crore ‘lakhpati didis’ in the country. Today, 10 crore women are associated with women self-help groups,” he said.

The Prime Minister further stated that there is an atmosphere of peace now, which is contributing towards the development. “The era of serial blasts is over. Today, the country is seeing a drop in terror attacks. The naxal-prone areas have also seen a drastic change.”

He also claimed to have successfully kept corruption at bay. “Corruption, dynasty, and appeasement are the three main hurdles for India. The government’s every moment, every rupee is going towards the welfare of citizens. We have unitedly built a strong economy and stopped leakages. My government weeded out 10 crore fake beneficiaries of welfare schemes; seizure of ill-gotten assets rose by 20 times.”

He highlighted that India’s capabilities is space technology are rising rapidly. “Deep sea mission, modernisation of railways – Vande Bharat, Bullet train – we are working on all. Internet has reached village. While we are working on nano urea, we are also focusing on organic farming.”

He said that when he went to Bali for the G20 summit he found that leaders from other countries wanted to know the details of India’s developments, especially in the field of technology and digitalisation. “The world is looking at India in awe. The experts in the world are saying that now India is not going to back down.”

He exuded confidence that he would address the nation from the Red Fort next year to list out the progress on the promises he had made to the people. “Next year, on August 15, from this same Red Fort, I will list out the progress achieved by the nation and laud your strength, your resolve and your success with greater confidence,” Modi said.

Notably, PM Modi had delivered his longest Independence Day address of 96 minutes in 2016 and his shortest speech in 2017, which lasted 56 minutes.

Recalling the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and several illustrious freedom fighters from Odisha, the CM advised the people to work unitedly to transform the state. He said that development of the poor, farmers, women, tribals and youth is real progress.

“Education, healthcare, tourism, infrastructure and other fields have seen a new dawn under 5T principle. The economy of the state has strengthened and poverty is on the decline. The state has been receiving investments worth lakhs of rupees, creating employment opportunities for youth,” Naveen said.

Talking about the recent Cabinet decisions, the CM said the people residing in every panchayat of Odisha will soon have access to banking services with the government deciding to cover the 4373 unbanked panchayats. “Senior citizens, women and physically challenged persons will be the major beneficiaries of this initiative,” he said.

He also spoke about 4 lakh additional beneficiaries being added under Madhu Babu Pension Scheme. “They will get pension from today,” he said.

The CM said that every life is precious and Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojna has ensured quality healthcare service for everyone. “Women are the face of development. The Mission Shakti has emerged as the engine of transformation for them,” he said

“Our aim is to develop a modern digital infrastructure base in every village besides protecting the Jagannath culture. We will be training around one lakh of them every year under ‘Aama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ by spending four thousand crore rupees,” he said.

The CM also paid his tributes to the immortal jawans who have laid down their lives for the peace and security of the country. “India’s freedom struggle ushered in a new era in the history of the world. This struggle was an inspiration for everyone. Today, India has established itself as a major power. It has cemented it place in space research with the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3.”

According to the midday bulletin, yellow warning of thunderstorm with lightning has been issued for 2 days.

August 13

Thunderstorm with lightning is likely at one or two places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Puri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh and Angul districts.

Light to moderate rain or thundershower may also occur at many places in North Coastal Odisha, Keonjhar Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Boudh and at a few places in rest of the state.

August 14

Thunderstorm with lightning alert sounded for one or two places in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, and Kandhamal.

Light to moderate rain or thundershower is also likely at many places in North Odisha and at a few places in the southern districts of the state.

The IMD has sounded yellow warning of heavy rain for the subsequent 3 days.

August 15

Heavy rainfall may occur at one or two placesin Sundargarh, Deogarh, Keonjhar Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kendrapada and Boudh.

Light to moderate rain or thundershower is also likely at most places in North Odisha and at many places in the southern districts of the state.

August 16

Heavy rainfall forecast for one or two places in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Balangir,Boudh, Kandhamal, Angul, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj.

Light to moderate rain or thundershower also likely at most places in Interior Odisha and at many places in the coastal belt.

August 17

Heavy rainfall may occur at one or two places in Sonepur, Boudh, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Keonjhar ,Sundargarh, Bhadrak and Deogarh.

Heavy rain will also come as relief for farmers in the rain-deficit districts of the state. Odisha has received 657.7 mm against its normal value of 713.3 mm till August 13 in this monsoon season. “During the period, 10 districts were deficient, 2 in excess and rest 18 districts were in the normal category,” the regional centre tweeted.

Director General of Police (DGP) Sunil Bansal and a few senior officials of Odisha police were present during the full-dress rehearsal.

“Four contingents of Odisha police participated in the full-dress rehearsal for the upcoming state level Independence Day celebration in the capital city here. A police contingent from neighbouring Chhattisgarh will participate in the Independence Day celebration here. The members of the contingent also took part in the rehearsal. We have also sent a contingent of Odisha police to Chhattisgarh for the celebration,” said the DGP.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will hoist the National Flag and take salute in the state-level Independence Day celebrations at the Unit-3 Exhibition Ground. The Commissionerate Police has made adequate security arrangements for the occasion. The Odisha police has taken extra precautionary measures for the occasion in Naxal-affected areas of the state, added the DGP.

Twin-city Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarsi said a three-tier security cover would be in force for the 77th state-level Independence Day celebration. “At least 15 platoons of police force and 100 officials will be deployed to ensure foolproof security for the celebrations,” said Priyadarsi.

The state government, in a release on Thursday, has released the list of ministers and other dignitaries who will hoist the Tricolour at different places on August 15.

As per the list, minister Jagannath Saraka will take salute at the parade at Kandhamal district, Niranjan Pujari in Puri, Ranendra Pratap Swain in Koraput, Pradip Kumar Amat in Ganjam, Pramilla Mallik in Bargarh, Usha Devi in Sambalpur, Prafulla Kumar Mallik in Keonjhar, Pratap Keshari Deb in Angul, Atanu Sabyasachi Nyak in Rayagada, Tukuni Sahu in Jagatsinghpur, Ashok Chandra Panda in Balangir, Rajendra Dholakia in Sundargarh, Bikaram Keshari Arukha in Cuttack, Sudam Marandi in Balasore, Sharada Prasad Nayak in Jharsuguda, Aswini Kumar Patra in Mayurbhanj, Priti Ranjan Ghadai in Balangir, Rita Sau in Sonepur, and Basanti Hembram in Dhenkanal.

Similarly, RDC (southern division) will hoist the National Flag at Berhampur and RDC (northern division) at Rourkela.

The district collectors of Bhadrak, Boudh, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Khurda, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Nayagarh will take salute at the Independence Day parade in their respective districts, the release stated.