NROs angry over Surabhi

Tathya.in,
Bhawanipatna:27/April/2009

“It is like carrying coal to new castle”, lamented most of the intelligentsia in Orissa and abroad.

They said Bhubaneswar is hosting many national institutions like IIT, NISER, AIIMS and National University Bhubaneswar (NUB) by Central Government of India in its vicinity.

Apart from the fact that there are also proposals for many state Government and private Universities in the Capital region, what is the use of setting up a Second Campus in the Capital city?

This question is in the upper most minds of one and all.

So the Prime Minister Office is flooded with e-mails from both inside and outside the country and they have demanded immediate intervention.

Leading the lot Digambara Patra has expressed deep concern and anguish over the decision of Surabhi Banarjee to set up Second Campus of the Central University of Orissa (CUO) at Bhubaneswar.

Professor Patra, who teaches in the American University of Beirut, alleged that the first Vice Chancellor of the CUO is more interested for her own personal convenience rather than take caring interest of Orissa state.

He has alleged that Prof. Banerjee is in no mood to move to Koraput due to lack of facilities like airport and modern health care units.

Many of us have been working hard to establish a Central University in KBK region since past five years keeping backwardness of KBK region in mind.

People of Kalahandi have been struggling for a central university since past two decades for which Chief Minister of Orissa promised for establishment of Central University in Kalahandi in May 2008, said Lily Behera from Texas, US.

Though it was expected that the proposed new Central University of Orissa will come up at Bhawanipatna as it meets all infrastructure cited by MHRD and centrally located in KBK, later on Naveen Patnaik decided it to set up at Koraput.

That’s only keeping political advantage in sight, alleged she.

Earlier many petitions were given to honorable prime minister praying for justice towards the injustice caused by Chief Minister of Orissa to the people of Kalahandi which are still pending, said Lingaraj Patra from Tokyo, Japan.

In past couple of years state Government has proposed to Central Government of India to establish CUO at Koraput, branch of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Phulbani and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Berhampur, all of them in South Orissa, said Atmaram Thakur.

Whereas no national institution has been proposed in Western Orissa region during this period, lamented he.

It would be wise to establish new campus of CUO in those regions of the state which are backward and needs attention in higher education in Western Orissa and not in Bhuabneswar region which is already hosting many similar establishments of high repute, said Maitreyee Behera.

The second and third campuses of CUO must come in other KBK districts of Western Orissa region that desperately need national institutions, demanded Om Prakash Behera.

Kalahandi and Balangir are two ideal locations for such establishments, said he.

The distribution of CUO might be such that Arts, Law and management campus of CUO comes in Koraput, medical campus of CUO gets established in Bhawanipatna and Engineering campus of CUO gets established in Balangir, proposed Judhistir Patra.

By proposing for a second campus of CUO in rented house in Bhubaneswar the VC of CUO is diluting importance of such establishment in backward region like KBK, alleged Rama Kanta Acharjya.

All of them have strongly opposed the move adding that in case of second campus of CUO, it should be established at Bhawanipatna.