Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 23: The Gangadhar Meher (Autonomous) college will be accorded unitary university status shortly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Friday.
The state government has decided to initiate the process to turn Gangadhar Meher (Autonomous) College in to a unitary university, said the Chief Minister, who visited Sambalpur on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Veer Surendra Sai Jayanti.
This is the third major decisions taken in three months to boost education in western Orissa.
The state government had earlier passed a bill in the winter session of the Assembly to set up a State Open University in Sambalpur with an investment of `35 crore to cater to the needs of the students of the region. It had also given autonomous status to VSS Medical College, Burla, on new year day to promote better education in healthcare.
Patnaik said the decision of the state government will provide greater scope to the youth of the state, especially western Orissa, in higher education.
The Chief Minister visited Randa in Sambalpur and paid floral tributes to Veer Surendra Sai. He asked people to take inspiration from these two martyrs and participate more actively in nation building.
Before visiting Sambalpur, Patnaik first paid tributes to Sai in Bhubaneswar and visited Cuttack where he garlanded the statue of Netaji Subhas Bose and addressed a gathering.
Later, the Chief Minister visited Redhakhol and Belpahad where he addressed two public gatherings and spoke about various schemes and programmes his government has proposed for the development of those areas.
Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who accompanied the Chief Minister during his Sambalpur visit, spoke about the life of these martyrs.
Leaders of the opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party also paid tributes to these martyrs.