Odisha: Kalahandi varsity gets land for campus

BHUBANESWAR: Newly created Kalahandi University has received the land for setting up its permanent campus at Karlapada near Bhawanipatna, which is the district headquarters of Kalahandi. It is situated 18km from the existing campus at Bhawanipatna.
In September 2019, the state government had converted the Kalahandi University into an affiliating university after chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s approval. Until then, it was Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna, as the state government had given it unitary status on March 6, 2019.
“The 96.47-acre land is around 10km from the Utkela airstrip, which has been included in the Centre’s UDAN scheme for regional connectivity.It is a scenic location right next to the Tel river and hills. It is well-connected with the Bhawanipatna-Khariar road one side. This apart, the railway station and airstrip are also nearby,” Sanjay Kumar Satapathy, who assumed charge as the vice-chancellor of the university last month, said. He added that he will first ensure massive plantation and the setting up of a boundary wall around the site of the permanent campus. “We will install rainwater harvesting structures within the university campus to help save water,” he had said after a recent visit to the site at Karlapada village.
The vice-chancellor said the permanent campus of the university will be a global centre of education. “We have planned to set up a Rendo Majhi Centre for Tribal Studies and a Gudhandi and Yogimatha Centre of Anthropology,” he added.
He further said the local administration has earmarked the land for the university. “I have visited the place and spoken with the villagers, who have been vey cooperative. They are happy that a university will be set up near their village. Detailed planning for the campus will be done within a few days,” he added.
More than 50 colleges of Kalahandi and Nuapada are affiliated to Kalahandi University. These colleges were functioning under Sambalpur University before. The Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna, was established in 1960.