BHUBANESWAR : ‘Pride of Odisha Samman’ of Argus News was poles apart from similar programs of its genre. It was not a program to honour well known personalities and influencers, who hog the limelight every other day. This unique platform of Argus News was an effort to discover and honour 12 great but unsung social activists of Odisha. These unsung social activists have are commoners who have shown uncommon guts to eradicate sorrows from the life of their brethren.
Getting out of traditional urban centric mind set of mainstream media, Argus News searched out nook and corner of Odisha to discover these unnoticed gems of service. Their exemplary life and deeds were showcased through a series named ‘Pride of Odisha’ telecast on Argus News Channel. To make whole of Odisha proud for these rare unsung champions of social service, they were honoured through a colourful program named ‘Pride of Odisha Samman’ held in Bhubaneswar on April 21.
Khimji Jewellers was the presenting sponsor of this colourful program. Its associate sponsors included Apollo Hospital, MBS Beverages & Food, Mo Masala, IMFA, DN Wisdom Tree Global School, Paradeep Port Authority. Its print partner was The Prameya, travel partner was the Sand & Pebbles Ltd, while the venue partner was Hotel Swosti.
The social activists honoured by the ‘Pride of Odisha Samman’ included paradeep’s tree-man Aamaresh Naresh Samanta, crusader against child marriage Yashoda Pande, angel for cancer patients and unclaimed bodies Abhimanyu Das, dress designer of the deprived Gagan Bihari Paital, Sanitation warrior Sunakar Sahoo, mother of children of convicts Niroj Laxmi, animal activist Puravi Patra, Fighter for Divyang rights Dr Sruti Mahapatra, saviour of tribals Dinabandhu Moharana, champion of tribal women’s emancipation Rashmi mohanty, life children’s life builder Binash Mishra and last hope for the mentally retarded destitute Suresh Chandra Biswal.
Dignitaries from all walks of life had gathered up at the ‘Pride of Odisha Samman’ function. They included Padma award winners Pratibha Ray, Nrusingha Prasad Guru, Haladhar Nag, cine stars Sabyasachi Mishra, Archita Sahu, Anu Choudhury, former chief secretary of Odisha Sahadev Sahoo, social activist Namrata Chadha, BJP general secretary Golak Mohapatra, COO of Apollo Hospitals Dr Alok Srivastava etc. Effort of Argus News to honour and publicise deeds of unsung social activists of Odisha was praised by all.
Dr Guru said because of Argus News people of Odisha will come to know about these great social workers. BJP leader Golak Mohapatra said he had no words to describe this endeavour of Argus News to bring these real gems of society, who prefer to remain aloof from cheap publicity. Haladhar Nag was of the opinion that Argus News has done a great job by making these personalities known to all. Namrata Chdha thanked Argus News for coming with such a unique concept to search out unsung social activists in a beautiful manner. The COO of Apollo Hospitals Dr Alok Srivastava praised the modern and impactful theme of ‘Pride of Odisha’. Sahadev Sahoo said Argus News had searched out personalities who have put service before self. Pratibha Ray said ‘Pride of Odisha Samman’ of Argus News will be a motivation for other media houses.
Cine star Sabyasachi felt it was right decision of Argus News to honour these real idols of society service as they will motivate more and more persons to take up the path of service. He praised the research and dedication behind the program. Archita felt all will learn from the life and acts of discoveries of Argus News. Anu Choudhury, who was the anchor of ‘Pride of Odisha’ TV show thanked Argus News for providing her the chance to be part of this unique endeavour.
As per CEO of Argus News Prakash Sahu ‘Pride of Odisha’ was a dream project of Argus News. This initiative will continue, he added. Argus News prefers to keep itself linked to the grassroot of Odisha and the commoners making all efforts to transform Odisha, said Chief Editor of Argus News Sanjay Jena.
