Bhubaneswar: Bihar governor Satya Pal Malik took charge as acting governor of Odisha, here on Wednesday.

The Orissa high court chief justice, Vineet Saran, administered the oath of office to Malik at a special function held in the Raj Bhawan. The Odisha chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, several ministers of the state government, chief secretary A P Padhi and several other dignitaries attended the special function.

Malik will discharge duties as Governor of Odisha in addition to his duties as Governor of the neighbouring State-Bihar.

Earlier, Malik was welcomed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) by chief minister Patnaik and Odisha Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat on his arrival here. He was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the airport.

Malik to hold additional charge as Governor of Odisha as the statutory five-year tenure of outgoing Governor S C Jamir ended on March 20.

71-year-old Malik is a resident of Uttar Pradesh and he had assumed office as the governor of Bihar on September 30 last year.

A seasoned politician, Malik has served as member both in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.