Bhubaneswar: Alumni of Sailabala (SB) Women’s College and members of the intelligentsia joined college students, who have been agitating on the campus in Cuttack for over 1 month, demanding university status for the institution.
They staged a dharna outside the college and demanded the state govt to announce a definitive time period for declaration of the institution—the oldest women’s college in the state—as a university. “The college is an integral part of Odia Asmita. It is disheartening to see that students are on strike for more than 1 month and there was no assurance from the govt,” said Gopa Das, an alumni member. They also demanded that college land should not be transferred for non-academic purposes.
The students met collector (Cuttack) Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde on Tuesday, seeking an assurance over their 2 demands, but as their talks with him failed, the girls staged a demonstration on the college campus throughout the night. The students asserted that the agitation will continue until their demands are met.
Meanwhile, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said more than Rs 1 crore was sanctioned by the govt for the college’s infrastructure development. While providing a written reply to a query on the issue by MLA Sofia Firdous, the minister informed that in the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, an amount of over Rs 1.68 crore was sanctioned to the college for repair and renovation works, including making the campus disabled-friendly.
The minister informed the assembly that the state govt received the proposal last year to grant university status to the college, and a decision will be taken by it in due course. He said specific budget provisions are being made for infrastructure development of the college, which is a qualifying requirement for the university tag.
Diana Sahu is an Assistant Editor with the Times of India. With a...
Read MoreDiana Sahu is an Assistant Editor with the Times of India. With a professional career spanning nearly two decades, she has been writing extensively on education, livelihood, child rights, gender, heritage & culture, tourism and disability rights. She is also known for her data-driven investigative reports and compelling human interest stories.
Her in-depth story on 'Women in Higher Education' had won her the Best Feature Award at the Laadli Media Awards and a Laadli National Fellowship on 'Gender and Disability'. She had also received WNCB Fellowship on Child Rights.
Apart from her core reporting interests, she loves documenting the many aspects of Odisha's culture and heritage. She tweets at @DiannaSahu.
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