Sakhigopal: The state Higher Education department Thursday purchased 9.60 acre land for establishment of the much-awaited Odia University at Satyabadi in Puri district.
The Higher Education department purchased the land from Satyabadi Gopinath Dev temple trust at a cost of Rs 11, 33, 58,000, sources said.
The land transaction was done at Satyabadi sub-registrar office. Gopinath Dev temple executive officer Kailash Chandra Mishra and Higher Education department additional secretary Jayanta Narayan Sarangi signed the land deed in the presence of Satyabadi sub-registrar Santosh Kumar Pati.
The state government had announced to establish the Odia University at Satyabadi to facilitate research on the language.
The proposed university will offer postgraduate courses in Odia language and promote research.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the proposed university at Satyabadi ‘Bakulabana’ on the occasion of Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das’s 141st birth anniversary October 9, 2018.
The state government had proposed to purchase the land for the university from Gopinath Dev temple at market price.
The state Endowment Commissioner and the Law department had given their stamp of approval for the land transaction. Subsequently, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central, Anil Kumar Samal and Puri Collector Balwant Singh had inspected the land October 3, 2019, sources said.
The next day, the Higher Education department deposited the money in the bank account of the trust board, sources added.
“The land will be recorded in the name of state Higher Education department. The Public Works department will carry out the construction work for the university which will be completed as early as possible,” said Sarangi, who has been appointed as the officer on special duty (OSD) for the university.
Meanwhile, the inordinate delay in acquisition of land for the proposed university has invited criticisms for the government from several quarters after a section of media highlighted the issue.
It is worth mentioning here that Satyabadi has occupied a significant place in the history of Odisha. It was associated with ‘Panchasakha’ (five friends)—Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihar Das, Pandit Nilakantha Das, Krupasindhu Mishra and Godavarisha Mishra.
The Panchasakha had established Satyabadi Vana Vidyalaya to improve educational system in the state in the pre-independence era.
