Team News Riveting
Rourkela, October 31
National Institute of Technology Rourkela Alumni Association (NITRAA) has urged the Centre to rename NIT, Rourkela after former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik.
Substantiating the demand, NITRAA office bearers said the indomitable visionary and father of modern Orissa, Bijayanand (Biju) Patnaik in his characteristic style, took a pre-emptive initiative and established the Regional Engineering College(REC), Rourkela on 15 August, 1961, after fulfilling all preparatory actions towards the share of role and responsibility of the State for establishment of a REC in joint collaboration of the State and the Centre.
The initiative came after denial by the Centre to his justified demand for establishment of one REC in Orissa out of two sanctioned for Eastern India that were established in Bihar and Bengal, where National level engineering colleges were already running and Orissa had none. He allocated 700 acres of land in the suburb of steel town, appointed a dedicated knowledgeable engineer from the State to act as the interim administrator and run the college in a hired facility and declared establishment of the REC in Rourkela on 15 August 1961.
All these have been duly recorded in the September 1961 issue of Orissa review, a publication of the Orissa Government. He then appointed Prof. Bhubaneswar Behera as the Principal of REC, who was the Principal of University College of Engineering, Burla, again by fulfilling the procedure laid down by the Centre.
“Prof Behera was unaware of the background events. Within a couple of months of his joining he came to know while going through office papers that the college has no sanction from the Centre (without which the college cannot be termed a R.E.C.). He rushed to Biju Babu whom he had held in high esteem since student days. Biju babu shared the fair facts and with assuring words gave Rs 30 lakhs form the State to Prof. Behera and asked him to go ahead with construction of the college and run.” A press note issued by the NITRAA said
“When Chandrakanth, the then Chief of AICTE came on visit to Rourkela after visiting Jamshedpur, where, despite sanction was given with disbursement of money, there was hardly any progress, he was amazed and overwhelmed to see the progress at Rourkela which had taken off two years after. Upon return to Delhi he took total ex-post-facto approval of establishment of the REC at Rourkela on the 15th August, 1961 including appointment of Prof. Behera as the Principal.” the release added.
“Prof. Behera had acted in a complementary role with Biju babu in matching verve and vision , that could elicit the ex-post -facto approval. His autobiographical novel where he names him as ‘Budddhadeva’ gives a graphic picture of total development,” the NITRAA said.
NITRAA, Rourkela, claimed that RECs established by the Centre with central investment were named after illustrious sons of India. Hence, the NIT Rourkela deserves to be named after Biju Patnaik, the founder of REC at Rourkela. The NITRAA, Rourkela therefore urged the Central Government to do justice to the late Kalinga hero Biju Patnaik and name NIT, Rourkela after him.
In the press meet, Bharat Bhusan Mohanty, Ex-President, NITRAA, Fakir Charan Mohanty, Ex-President, NITRAA and Bimal Kumar Bisi, Chairman, NITRAA, Rourkela chapter were present.
