Warm Welcome to Hornorable Prime Minister Dr Singh to Odisha

orissadiary.com, Dec 17, 2009

Dear Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Singh,

I learn from the news sources on your visit to Odisha to lay foundation stone for the permanent complex of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER).

Sir, I welcome you whole heartedly and would like to show my deep thankful and grateful to you.  

When we the people of Odisha along with the support from our political leaders, social workers, journalists and friends protested for National Institute of Science while locating IISER in Kolkata in 2004-05, you personally listened and gave the people of Odisha an equivalent institution, NISER, as par with IISER in 2006 under Department of Atomic Energy despite difficulty coming out from MHRD to establish new IISER in Odisha.

Similarly, Odisha's demand for a new Indian Institute of Technology, Central University and World Class Central University (in other words Innovation or National University) were rewarded by you and your Government.

On the other hand when Kalahandi people have been demanding for a Central University since two decades Odisha Chief Minister knowingly or unknowingly betrayed the interest of infamous and backward Kalahandi in the last moment.

Instead of 800 crore Central University proposal the chief minister announced two state level small colleges with a total budget of 10 crore in Kalahandi. Not even a state level University as par with Central University of Orissa was announced for Kalahandi in Odisha.

When our own chief minister could not give justice to our local people, you could do to our state despite not being from the state and your party having only 2 elected MPs from the state in that point of time.

In fact, Prime Minister Office had also forwarded my letter dated 17 Aug 2008 to MHRD on injustice caused towards Kalahandi while establishing Central University of Orissa by Odisha Government. MHRD had selected Kalahandi for an IGNTU off campus based on a letter from local MP from Kalahandi, as per the information obtained through RTI route. It seems there is no interest from Odisha Chief Minister and his office for IGNTU off campus in Kalahandi whereas the chief minister office is very much taking initiaitves for other national institutions in other parts of the state except Western Odisha and Kalahandi.

Since Bhubaneswar region is going to have NISER (par with IISc/NISER), IIT, AIIMS type institution, world class private Vedanta University, ESIC medical college, Railway medical college, many other national laboratories and educational institutions etc., and no centrally funded institution has come in Western Odisha recently, I request you to kindly reconsider Kalahandi or Bhawanipatna region for the proposed Innovation University (also reported as National University or World Class Central University earlier) in the state based on my earlier letter dated on Oct 2, 2009. 
 

Again sir, I am very much thankful for your honesty, rationality and intellectual thinking you showed towards us and I welcome you back to Odisha. I anticiapte in your next visit you will stop by at Kalahandi to realize difficulty people face for higher education and employment there.

I also sincerely hope NISER fulfils the dream that all of us have in mind.

With best regards

Digambara Patra

Digambara Patra, Ph.D

Assistant Professor

Department of Chemistry

American University of Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon

Email: digpatra@yahoo.com