Former students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Rourkela, located in the Sundargarh region of Odisha, have again called for the institution to be named after Biju Patnaik, the great statesman who founded it.
Details about NIT-Rourkela in Odisha Must Be Named After Legendary Leader Biju Patnaik, Says Alumni Association:
According to Fakir Charan Mohanty, president of the NIT Rourkela Alumni Association (NITRAA), the Regional Engineering College (REC) at Rourkela was founded by the former chief minister Biju Patnaik, not the former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in contrast to popular belief.
He claimed that Biju Babu sought to encourage technical education among the young people of Odisha after the Rourkela Steel Plant was built. The state government completed all of the requirements of the Centre thanks to his advocacy, and the REC was established on August 15, 1961. He continued by saying that Biju Patnaik had personally declared the launch of REC during a public gathering held at the time.
At first, 120 students were admitted to the college at the government ITI site, including 60 Odias and 60 non-Odias. As the school’s first regular principal, Prof. Bhubaneswar Behera sought Biju Babu for funding because the Center had not yet given its approval. The campus’ construction was initiated after the state government contributed Rs 30 lakh from its treasury.
Mohanty demanded that the NIT-Rourkela be named after Biju Patnaik, claiming that other NITs in the nation have been named after notable individuals such as Motilal Nehru NIT at Prayagraj, Moulana Abdul Kalam NIT at Bhopal, BR Ambedkar NIT at Jalandhar, and Malviya NIT at Jeypore who has not received the recognition he deserves for his contribution to the country
At the news conference were former NITRAA president Bharat Bhusan Mohanty and current NITRAA Rourkela branch president Bimal Kumar Bisi.
