The Odisha government announced on Friday that it has begun the process of retrieving former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik’s legendary Dakota aircraft, which is currently parked at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (NSCB) International Airport, to Bhubaneswar. The plane will now be on display at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.

Biju Babu, who was Odisha’s Chief Minister twice (1961-1963 and 1990-1995), began his career as a Pilot in 1930 at the Delhi Flying Club. Later, in 1936, he joined the Royal Indian Air Force. Patnaik was a key figure in India’s freedom struggle, flying leaders and freedom fighters throughout the country. Patnaik had a close relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru as a result of his active involvement in the Independence movement.

In 1947, Biju Patnaik being an exceptional pilot, flew the Dakota to Java with his wife Gyan Patnaik, who was also a pilot, to save Sultan Sjahrir, Indonesia’s former prime minister, from a forest hideout. According to history research scholar Anil Dhir, the operation was carried out on the orders of then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw Indonesia’s battle for independence from Dutch colonial forces as comparable to India’s.

Legendary Biju Patnaik was twice awarded Indonesia’s highest civilian honour, the Bhumiputra, for his bravery.

Odisha’s Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said the public works department (PWD) has issued a tender for the Dakota’s transportation, in response to popular demand. The contract for moving the plane to Bhubaneswar was awarded to a company based in Kolkata. According to reports, the firm was given permission to transport the dismantled plane by road to Bhubaneswar and reassemble it on the airport grounds.

The state government has already submitted a letter to the Centre, requesting permission for the Dakota to be placed beside Biju Patnaik’s statue at the International Airport there, the minister said, emphasizing that the Dakota will be back in Bhubaneswar shortly.

Last year, the state government sent out a letter to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), which got clearance for the Dakota in Kolkata airport to be relocated to Odisha.

Late Biju Patnaik founded Kalinga Airlines, which possessed up to 18 Dakota VT-AVI aircraft. A total of twelve of them have been damaged irreparably. One is located at Kolkata International Airport, another at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, while the third is located in Indonesia. According to a department of commerce and transport official, there is no information about the remaining three aircrafts.