Singing of the ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ in response to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s call to honour the corona warriors on Saturday afternoon was a grand success in western Odisha.

Schools, colleges and different institutions apart, individuals were also seen in different places and on rooftops singing the patriotic song.

However, sections of people also raised their voice against ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ as western Odisha was “not part of Utkal”. Protests were more in social media. Some posted, “We will sing Rangabati." A few others sang the National Anthem. There were also many with ‘Bande Mataram’ and so on with postings in social media.

A retired professor posted: “I will sing both National Anthem and ‘Bande Utkala Janani.” The discordant voice was among a section of people who have been demanding for a separate State of Kosal since long.

Surprisingly enough, many people who migrated to Sambalpur from Hindi-speaking States long back were more active in protesting ‘Bande Utkala Janani’. They even asked some questions that they themselves didn't understand. Needless to mention that these people came here as paupers and have become not only millionaires but have grabbed the valuable lands of innocent SC/ST people of the city and the district.

“Still for the greater interest of the State and to keep unity, the Government needs to see all-round development of Odisha instead of a few districts so that regional imbalance could be mitigated and people’s anger could come to an end,” said local senior citizen Golak Bihari Mishra.