Soon, Gujarat will have an association - Utkal Gujarat Federation - for 9 lakh natives of Odisha who have made Gujarat their home. Dr. S K Nanda, retired IAS officer, will be the chairperson of UGF to be headquartered in Ahmedabad. The decision was taken following a meeting at Jagannath temple in Adalaj by the member of district-level Odiya organization on April 28.
The Utkal Gujarat federation will serve the basic need of community members living across the state; the district associations who do not have adequate manpower could also approach the UGF with larger issues faced by the community members.
Dr S K Nanda told Mirror, "There are scores of poor people from Odisha who have migrated to Gujarat for labour. We will see whether they are in possession of health card, are aware of health insurance schemes and have access to hygienic living conditions. We would also like to see the availability of trains for them".