KalingaTimes
Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Oct 7: The Orissa Society of
the Americas (OSA), a 38-year-old organisation
of the Oriya people living in North America,
has written letters to the Chief Minister
of Orissa and Prime Minister urging them to
take steps for the setting up of a Greenfield
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the
State.
The organisation has also requested the
two leaders to initiate measures for the
setting up a Central University in the backward
Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region
of Orissa.
In two separate letters to the Chief Minister
and Prime Minister, the organisation further
demanded that emphasis be given for increasing
rail connectivity in the KBK region and
other backward areas of the State.
They also demanded for the setting up of
a second Central University in the State
by upgradation of the Ravenshaw University
at Cuttack.
"These issues need earliest attention
as the 11th Plan is getting finalised within
a couple of months. If we miss the chance
now, we will face a much harder struggle
to get this accomplished," the organisation
said in its letter addressed to Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik.
The Central University in KBK should be
a multi-campus one with campuses in the
district headquarters towns in the eight
KBK districts and adjacent districts of
Gajapati and Kandhamal, OSA suggested.
As regards the IIT, the OSA urged the Orissa
government to take some additional steps
such as submitting a vision paper for an
IIT stating how an IIT will help the State.
"Such a step will make Orissa's claim
stronger and is perhaps necessary as other
states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka
have taken similar, competitive initiatives
recently," the organisation observed.
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