Varsity demand for SB Women’s College gets local support

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.