Bhubaneswar, Jan 26 (IANS): The 69th Republic Day was celebrated across Odisha with gaiety and patriotic fervour amidst tight security on Friday.

Governor S.C. Jamir unfurled the Tricolour at the Mahatma Gandhi Road here, while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik hoisted the national flag at the historic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

Patnaik said Odisha has developed on all fronts and its growth rate was better than the national average.

The state has bettered the national average in terms of poverty reduction and human development index, he said.

The police heightened security in several districts after the Maoist call to observe Republic Day as Black Day. They put out posters asking people to boycott celebrations.

Tight security arrangements had been made in Maoist-affected districts like Malkangiri, Rayagada, Koraput, Kandhamal, Balangir and Gajapati.

To counter any unforeseen attack from terror groups during the Republic Day parade in Bhubaneswar, 12 commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) were deployed to guard the Mahatma Gandhi Marg here.

For the first time, these elite counter-terror forces were deployed near the sitting area of the VVIPs and at other vulnerable locations around the Gandhi Marg.