bitterness over deletion of Surendra Sai's name in govt calendar

Sambalpur, Dec 08: The absence of the birth day of Veer Surendra Sai, a prominent freedom fighter, in the government calendar for 2008, has evoked resentment among the people of Western Orissa here.

Several organisatiosn and intellectuals condemned the deletion of the birth day of Surendra Sai, the first freedom fighter of the nation, from the government calendar and demanded to rectify the calendar with special mention of the hero's birthday.

They further said since 2008 was the year of the second birth centenary of the freedom fighter from Western Orissa, who spent more than two decades in exile and died in jail in 1884, his name should have figured in the state government calendar.

''It is an irony that every year his birth day finds a place in the government calendar but it has been deleted in 2008 despite the fact that the hero's second birth centenary falls on January 23, 2008,'' intellectuals said.

The Orissa Sanskritik Samaj, a leading socio-cultural organisation of the state, raised objection over such an ''irregularity'' and drew the state government's attention, including the director of the government press.

The Western Orissa Small and Medium Newspapers' Forum also expressed concern over the issue and demanded the government to take responsibility for such a ''gross mistake''.

''Just a correction or an apology will not be a proper solution.

The persons responsible for such grave mistake should be penalised,'' Forum president Mayadhar Nag and secretary Mahabir Mishra demanded.

UNI