B’patna college likely to get varsity status: Srikant

The Pioneer, Feb 8, 2010
PNS, Bhawanipatna

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena on Saturday said here that as the five-year-old Government Autonomous College of Bhawanipatna has B++ status efforts would be made to upgrade it into a university. He was the chief guest on the concluding day of the college’s golden jubilee celebrations.

Earlier on Friday, Jena also attended the 50th-year celebration of Dharmagarh High School at Dharmagarh. He said a science and research centre would be opened in the high school and all other schools can take the advantage of it.

Regarding appointment of Shiksha Sahayaks, Jena, later addressing a Press conference at Bhawanipatna, criticised the State Government’s decision for appointment of these para-teachers at the district level as a State cadre.

He promised that a number of small fertiliser units would be set up in Kalahandi district so that local entrepreneurs would get a scope.

He was of the view that bauxite should not be extracted in the Niyamgiri hill as the ecology of the area would be adversely affected. The State Government is acting against the interests of the people by selling bauxite at Rs 64 per tonne whereas its actual market price is above Rs 2,000 per tonne, he said.

Jena also held discussions with District Collector RS Gopalan and other officials at a review meeting held here. Later, briefing reporters, he said that the implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyut Yojna (RGGVY) is very slow in the district, where the target is to electrify more than 2,000 villages. Under the Indravati Project, 10,000 hectares of land cannot be cultivated due to shortage of water, he also pointed out.

He said that although Rs 20 crore is provided under the National Rural Health Mission in Kalahandi, the progress is not enough due to shortage of doctors and office staff.

He further said that a mobile hospital would be launched in the district providing healthcare facilities in the van. Kalahandi MP Bhakta Charan Das and DCC president Ras Bihari Behera were present at the news conference.