First visit: March 23-29, 1921 for non-cooperation movement
Gandhi arrived at Cuttack on March 23, 1921. He conducted his first meeting at Qadam-e-Rasool in Cuttack on March 24 to propagate his ideas of non-cooperation movement. He also addressed women at Binod Bihari in the city and later a huge crowd at the Kathajodi riverbed in the evening.
On March 25, Gandhi addressed a meeting at Gandhi Padia in Bhadrak district. He then visited Satyabadi Bana Vidyalaya of Pandit Gopabandhu Das before leaving for Puri. He addressed a public meeting in the beach town on March 27 and spoke about freedom struggle.
On March 29, he went to Berhampur with Pandit Gopabandhu Das and addressed a huge gathering at the Berhampur Stadium.
Second visit on August 19 and 20, 1925
Gandhi had visited Utkal Tannery established by Madhusudan Das in Cuttack and tried to help him. He also visited other places of Cuttack and left for Kolkata by August 20 evening.
Third visit December 4-21, 1927 to promote Khadi
Gandhi had visited several Khadi production centres including Berhampur during this tour. He also met people of flood affected area in Bhadrak district. Due to the extensive tours, he fell ill and stayed indoor. He attended a public meeting at Cuttack on December 20 and then left the city on the very next day.
Fourth visit on December 22, 1928
During this one day visit, Gandhi got down at Jharsuguda while going to Kolkata to attend Congress session. He addressed a meeting here before travelling to Sambalpur. In a meeting on the riverside of Mahanadi in Sambalpur, people apprised him about their issues.
Fifth visit from May 5 to May 16, 1934 for padyatra
This visit was important because he conducted padyatra in the state for welfare of dalits. On May 5, Gandhi addressed people in Jharsuguda and Sambalpur and appealed people to eradicate untouchability. On the very next day, he went to Angul by car and addressed people there. He reached Puri on May 7.
On May 8, he unveiled statue of Pandit Gopabandhu Das in Puri and started a padyatra from Puri to Cuttack. He stayed at several places including Kadua Ashram, Satyabhamapura and Balianta while attending the padyatra. He left for Patna on May 16.
Sixth visit May 21-June 7, 1934 Padyatra
Gandhi resumed his Harijan padyatra on May 21 from Byree station in Jajpur district to Bhadrak. He covered rural areas of Cuttack, Kendrapada, Bari, Kabirpur in Jajpur and Bhadrak district. It continued till June 7.
Seventh visit March 25-31, 1938 to attend annual conference
Gandhi attended a week-long conference of Gandhi Seva Sangh and an agro and village enterprise exhibition at Beraboi in Delang area of Puri district. Renowned freedom fighters like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad attended the expo.
Eighth visit January 20, 1946 to meet supporters
Gandhi met his supporters at Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Berhampur while going towards Chennai in train on January 20, 1946. Huge turnout had been reported at stations.
(Sources: TOI)
