Rourkelacity.com: CM favorable towards ESIC Medical College in Rourkela

Following is an excerpt from http://www.rourkelacity.com/top-news/naveen-patnaik-assured-and-indicates-green-signal-for-esic-medical-college-at-rourkela/.

Today under the leadership of Dr. Prafulla Majhi ( MLA , Talsara Constituency, Sundargarh ) about 6 MLAs from Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar met the Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik and appraised him about the discontent among the civil society and people at Rourkela and Sundargarh on the on going issue of locating the ESIC Medical College. After giving a calm hearing to the MLAs , Naveen Patnaik said, being ESIC Medical College is a central Govt. project, the State Govt. doesn’t have any problem if the ESIC Corporation decides this to be at Rourkela. The state will facilitate accordingly and allocate the land. He further assured about checking the status of the project and do his best for Rourkela and its people. At the same time 20 representatives of people from the above districts, also handed over a memorandum for setting up ESIC Medical College and Hospital at Rourkela to the Chief Minister which he gladly accepted.

I hope this solves all the technical issues and the ESIC hospital and medical college is quickly established in Rourkela.

Assuming the above happens Rourkela would have a very good momentum towards becoming a Tier II city in India. Some of the other things that are happening in parallel are: (i) Faster progress with respect to BPUT (ii) Good progress on Hi-Tech Medical college (iii) Proposal for a metropolitan university in Rourkela and much more. In terms of knowledge infrastructure Rourkela would then have:

• One institute of National importance: NIT
• Two Universities: BPUT and Metropolitan University
• Two medical Colleges: Hi-Tech and ESI
• Two existing engineering colleges (Padmanava and Purushottam) and one more in pipeline (Rourkela Institute of Technology)
• Good management institutes in RIMS Rourkela and IIPM Kansbahal.

I hope now Rourkela will have the momentum and its people will take their own initiatives so that steps such as the ones we earlier mentioned in  http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3480 will be taken and  Rourkela will march towards becoming a Tier II city of India.

Among people driven initiatives the first one to be taken is to push SAIL to create a medical college and an engineering college in Rourkela and approaching top institutions in Odisha and India to open a campus in Rourkela.

4 comments March 13th, 2010

Hi-Tech advertises for its Rourkela Medical College: Dharitri, Samaja

The ad says they are expecting it to start in 2010-11. Perhaps someone from Rourkela can tell us how far the construction has progressed. Any photos would be appreciated.

5 comments March 3rd, 2010

Prof. Jitendriya Kumar Satpathy from NIT Rourkela to takeover as BPUT’s 3rd VC

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

Jitendriya Kumar Satpathy will take over as third Vice Chancellor of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) soon. 

Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, has been appointed as new VC BPUT by the Chancellor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare. 

The Raj Bhawan has issued orders accordingly and Prof. Satpathy would remain VC for the next five years.

… Prof. Satpathy received his Ph. D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. 

…  His specialisations include Digital Signal Processing, Application of Neural Networks & Fuzzy logic to digital communication, Electrical power drives. 

Born in Cuttack with top academic excellence, Professor Satapathy is known for his down to earth approach.

… Commenting on his new appointment Professor Satapathy said that once he completes his duties in NIT, he will take over as VC. 

Once he takes over the assignment, it will be possible to spell out his vision on BPUT, said Prof.Satapathy.

Since Prpfessor Satapathy has been living in Rourkela, there is a high chance that unlike his predecessors he will run BPUT from Rourkela.

7 comments January 25th, 2010

Delhi farmers offer land for state university

Earlier I wrote about people getting together and offering land for a university, a branch campus, or a new institute in Orissa. This is exactly what has now transpired in Delhi. I hope people in various parts of Orissa learn from this. Following is an excerpt from a report about the Delhi farmer’s offer.

… A delegation from Delhi’s villages called on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday and presented to her a resolution offering 540 bighas of land in the Ghumanhera village in Najafgarh for opening of a State university.

A memorandum seeking opening of a new general university under the Delhi government and naming it after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was submitted to Ms. Dikshit …

They said that opening of a new general university under the Delhi Government would benefit the farmers of Delhi as it would also help in implementation of the OBC reservation list under which the Jat community is covered.

Dr.Kumar had earlier also raised this issue with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for inclusive development in the rural areas by asking to give a portion of the developed land to the farmers from whom it is acquired, said that the meeting was a historic landmark as the farmers have willfully offered to give the Gram Sabha land for a noble cause.

… Sibal had however given a green signal to the plea, in writing to Dikshit that, the government should consider the plan and avail the help of the Centre to set up a new state university providing incentives to the states during the 11th Plan since the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University does not have seats in general higher education, in which a majority of students from the rural areas of Delhi are interested.

Following the interaction, Dr. Kumar said the Chief Minister declared that she would soon work on forming this new university and thanked the farmers for offering to give their land to Delhi Government for the purpose.

The underlined parts above are important points. (i) Returning part of the developed donated land to the farmers, which by then is multiple times worth the original land, is a win-win situation. (ii) General Universities are important and no matter the existence of NIT and BPUT, Rourkela, still the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa, must have a general university at the earliest.

Add comment December 23rd, 2009

NIT Rourkela: Orissa’s top nationally ranked academic institution and Rourkela’s shining jewel

I was going through NIT Rourkela’s website. Although it has been always ranked pretty high (good research ranking, high ranking by India Today) among engineering colleges in India, over the last few years it is turning into a comprehensive university with new departments and programs. Prof. Sunil Sarangi has done wonders since he has arrived as the director of NIT Rourkela. Following are some of the highlights of the unique programs, new programs and new departments.

• Applied Mathematics Department: Has a program in M.Sc Mathematics
• Biotechnology and Medical Engineering Department: New department started in 2007-2008 and started B.Tech and M.Tech in Biomedical Engineering
• Business Administration Department: New department being made. New programs to start soon, hopefully in 2010
• Ceramic Engineering Department: B.Tech and M.Tech programs in Ceramic Engineering. This is a unique department and program not available in many places.
• Chemistry Department: Has a program in M.Sc Chemistry
• Humanities and Social Sciences Department: Two-year PG Programme in Development Studies to start from the next academic year
• Life Sciences Department: 2 year M. Sc. Programme (4-semester course) in Life Science commenced from July 2009
• Physics Department: Has a program in M.Sc Physics

Note: Among the above departments, the Applied Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics departments are not new but I think the M.Sc programs are new; I could not find when exactly they were started.

As one can notice from the above, one can do degrees in Molecular Biology or Humanities at NIT Rourkela. Soon one can pursue an MBA. This is really wonderful and kudos to Prof. Sarangi for making this happen.

In August this year when I met Prof. Sarangi in Orissa I broached the topic of having a medical college at NIT Rourkela. He was not opposed to the idea, but was worried that with only 1-2 years left in his tenure at NIT Rourkela, he would not be able to make it happen in that short time. I hope a way is found so that Prof. Sarangi stays for another 5 year term at NIT Rourkela. I am told every one likes him and respects him at NIT Rourkela. We should  write him and thank him for all that he has done for NIT Rourkela, request him to stay longer in Rourkela and we should do something (perhaps write to CMO and MHRD) to give him another 5 year term. We should request Prof. Sarangi to start a medical college at NIT Rourkela. His parent institution, IIT Khragpur is starting one in Kharagpur, so if he is given time, he will be able to do it. Another program that NIT Rourkela should be encouraged  to establish is "Architecture and Town Planning".  (In this regard, NIT Warangal leads the pack of NITs in planning for a medical school and a law school.)

For our readers with Rourkela connection please spread the word about the availability of science, business and humanities programs at NIT Rourkela so that good students and faculty join these programs. Also, some of you students, go and pursue higher degrees (PhD) and come back and join NIT Rourkela and to the others become an entrepreneur and open companies in Rourkela. 

Another good thing about all of these is that with the new VC at VSSUT Burla, who is also from IIT Khragapur and a good friend of Prof. Sarangi , a similar transformation can be expected at VSSUT Burla. Already, a new department of Humanities is being made at VSSUT Burla. VSSUT Burla has advertised for new faculty positions and its VC has mentioned some of his new plans. In an interview to TOI he is reported to have said: 

Our priority will be to make the institution as one of the best of the country and for this we are planning to introduce few new branches of engineering courses. Textile engineering is one among them which will help to strengthen the development of the Sambalpuri fabric. We also plan to introduce Nano-science technology, Bio-medical engineering and surgical engineering soon”, the vice chancellor Dr Tripathy told.

4 comments December 19th, 2009

RTI response on ESIC Medical College in Orissa

On 22nd October 2009 Prashant babu had filed an RTI with the following questions:

1. What are the reasons for choosing Bhubaneshwar, Odisha as the location for ESIC Medical College and Hospital, when Rourkela and its nearby areas are having the largest number of ESIC Insured Persons (ESIC Employees)?
2. On what ground Bolangir, Odisha was not considered as a location for the ESIC Medical College and Hospital?
3. Whether Rourkela as a location for ESIC Medical College proposed by Govt. of Odisha? If so please specify the date of such porposal? Who had sent the proposal (Name of the person/officer)?
4. If Rourkela was proposed, then on what ground it was not considered by ESIC for setting up the Medical College and Hospital?

He has now received the response. They are as follows:

1. Govt. of Orissa has offered 25 acres of land at Bhubaneshwar for setting up medical college by ESI Corporation.
2. There was no such proposal for consideration.
3. Govt. of Orissa has not proposed Rourkela as a location for ESIC medical college.
4. Not applicable. 

Different people are interpreting this different ways. My interpretation is as follows: 

• It is clear now that Orissa government plays a crucial role in deciding on the location of the ESIC medical college. The center may still say yes or no to a proposed location but it does not seem to have the power to propose a location on its own. This means the CM needs to be convinced. (That is why it was a big step to get the hint that the CM is now aware of the issue. However, it remains to be seen how accurate that information is.)
• Newspaper reports can not be trusted completely. From first hand experience I know that if there is a paper about X in the desk of a secretary some news papers have printed it as Orissa government has a proposal for X. There have been times where an email I sent to the government, which happen to lie in the desk of a secretary, has later appeared in the news papers as an Orissa government proposal whereas in reality my email printout probably went to some file (at best) or the dust bin. So my analysis is that somebody in Orissa government mentioned the name Balangir in the ESIC medical college context and it probably never made it out of the Orissa government; but regardless the newspapers printed about it. Its also possible that somebody on purpose gave wrong or misleading information to the media.

In any case, Prashant babu desreves thanks for using the RTI mechanism to get these answers. Now it is clear where the buck stops on this matter (the CM) and where the efforts should be concentrated on (the CM).  With the reluctance of the Rourkela MLA and the Labor Minister to bring this issue to the CM, some other way to access the CM and convince him about Rourkela needs to be found.

3 comments December 14th, 2009

Existing health related institutes in Orissa

Following is from http://www.orissa.gov.in/health_portal/index.html.

Medical & Dental Colleges:

Ayurvedic Colleges:

Government Institutions

Private Institutions:

Homeopathic Colleges:

Government Institutions

Private Institutions:

Nursing Colleges:

Pharmacy Colleges:

6 comments December 10th, 2009

First hint that the CM is aware of the ESIC medical college in Rourkela issue

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

Chief Minister has now demanded the Government of India to favour with a Dental and Nursing College for the Steel City, said official sources.

State Government in the Department of Labour & Employment (DOLE) has asked the Ministry of Labour to set up the facilities in Rourkela keeping in view the long standing demand of the people.

After Rourkela has been sidetracked for a Medical College & Hospital, the State Government has initiated the move to set up Dental College and College of Nursing in the city.

…Nearest Hospital for them is Sambalpur and IPs require frequent references for their dental problems.

Further there is extreme shortage of nursing staff in the health institutions of the state including ESI Medical Institutions.

So both Dental and Nursing College is needed, said Satya Prakash Nanda, Development Commissioner.

Mr.Nanda has taken up the issue with P C Chaturvedi, the Union Secretary Labour & Employment.

It has been agreed that ESIC would consider opening up of a Dental College and College of Nursing at Rourkela.

Investment in both the institutions will be around Rs.100 crores, said Sardar Jagar Singh, Secretary Labour & Employment.

Mr.Singh said that he has brought it to the notice of C D Kedar, the Director General ESIC.

Although a dental and nursing college (if it happens) is better than nothing, but it still does not seem to address the issue fairly. If there are more ESI insured people around Rourkela, the medical college should be established there. If there is some real logical reason why the medical college is being made in Bhubaneswar then the officials involved should spell that out.

26 comments December 9th, 2009

A turning point on ESIC Rourkela effort? – 4 Congress MPs including Hemanada Biswal request the PM for ESIC medical college in Rourkela

Update: Pioneer also writes about this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in expressbuzz.com.

First Published : 23 Nov 2009 04:16:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 23 Nov 2009 09:17:24 AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Four senior Congress MPs from Western Orissa have demanded establishment of the proposed ESIC medical college and hospital at Rourkela in Sundargarh district instead of near the Capital for which the State Government is insisting on.

Though the maximum number of industrial and mine workers reside in the area which is tribal dominated, it has been neglected in the health sector since Independence, the four MPs said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The four MPs, former chief minister Hemananda Biswal, former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das, former minister Amarnath Pradhan and Sanjay Bhoi, said that the area includes border districts and industrial belt of Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Bargarh and Sambalpur. Out of the 2.4 lakh ESI insured persons in the State, 1.4 lakh are from this area, they said and added that the first public sector integrated steel plant was established at Rourkela in 1955.

… While the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is going to be set up near Bhubaneswar, another medical recommended by the Human Resource Development Ministry will be set up in the coastal district. Besides, another medical college recommended by the Ministry of Railways will be established at Bhubaneswar. Two more medical colleges have been recommended to be set up Koraput and Talcher. Bhubaneswar city also has three private medical colleges and hospitals, they said.

This could be the turning point on this movement. Thank you MPs for finally doing this; better late than never.

The above report has a new piece of information in the last paragraph that I have underlined. I wonder what that refers to.

25 comments November 23rd, 2009

Mass Rally for ESIC Medical College in Rourkela on the 21st of November

Update: See News coverage of the rally at http://www.odiasamaja.org/esic-medical-college-rkl-mass-media-coverage/. Pioneer also reports on it at http://dailypioneer.com/217502/Demand-for-ESIC-college-in-Rourkela-gets-stronger.html.

Update: From today’s Dharitri.

Following is from http://www.odiasamaja.org/esic-medical-college-rkl-movement-intensified-again/.

1 comment November 20th, 2009

Making Rourkela a Tier II city of India – HRD and other development of Rourkela (work in progress)

Rourkela is the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa with an official metropolitan population of 550,668 but perhaps much more (at least 700 K) if one takes into account nearby places like Biramitrapur and Rajgangpur. It is probably the most cosmopolitan area of Orissa. Because of its steel plant it has world-wide name recognition. It has a lot of young talents; I am told that Rourkela youngsters have done much better in entrance exams like IIT JEE than from other parts of Orissa. Rourkela and the Sundergarh district have produced many national hockey players (both male and female), some of whom have gone on to captain the Indian national side.

Being an important station in the Mumbai-Howrah line, Rourkela is very well connected to both. The National Institute of Technology at Rourkela is often ranked among the top 5 NITs of the country; in recent years it has done much better and is in the process of starting a business program. Rourkela also has two private engineering colleges and at least one more is in the works. Rourkela has at least two good magament schools: Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (sometimes ranked nationally) and Indian Institute of Production Management, Kansbahal.  

Overall, Rourkela has the potential to be a Tier II city of India at the level of Vizag, Chandigarh, etc. But unfortunately, that has not happened so far and active organized efforts need to  be made to achieve that.

So here I will list some of the things that should be pursued so that Rourkela becomes a Tier II city of India.

Knowledge and HRD aspects:

• Metropolitan University: Rourkela is perhaps the largest metropolitan area of the country, or may be the whole world which does not have a general university. This needs to be rectified at the earliest. IMHO, the best model to follow would be of Delhi University. So a Rourkela Metropolitan University should be established  with graduate programs as well as with a few constituent colleges spread (offering Bachelors as well as Masters degrees) across the metropolitan area, but with no affiliated colleges. The exisiting government colleges in Rourkela (Govt. College, Rourkela; SG Women’s, Rourkela and Rourkela College) would be made constituents of this university.
• Medical College: Although a WODC sponsored PPP-based medical college is in the works, we must continue pursuing an ESIC medical college here. SAIL, which is making a medical college in Bokaro, should also be pushed to establish a medical college here.
• BPUT: BPUT must become fully operational from Rourkela.It  needs to have real departments and centers and offer its own courses. It should be expanded to have programs in Science and Humanities.
• Research Centers: The state should pursue one of the central government departments such as CSIR, DAE, Sc & Tech, etc. to open a research center in Rourkela.
• Centrally funded University: At some point a centrally funded university should be pursued for Rourkela.
• More private institutions: Rourkela has the population base and the amenities that metropolitan areas offer to have more private institutions such as engineering colleges, management institutions etc. A multi-pronged apporoach should be taken.
  • Local big industries should be cajoled to participate in this. For example, SAIL is also planning an engineering college in Bokaro. They should be pushed to have one in Rourkela.
  • Local people should also open private institutions on their own.
  • Educational foundations inside and outside state that have developed good private institutions should be approached and invited to open institutions in Rourkela. Inside Orissa, institutions like Silicon and NIST should be approached. 
• STP: The STP at Rourkela should be expanded.
• IT/BPO: Because of the cosmopolitan nature of Rourkela, it would be a good place for BPO and call center operations. This should be pursued.
• Sports Institute/University: Sundergrah district is considered by many to be the Hockey cradle of India, both in men’s and women’s hockey. It has produced both Men’s and Women’s hockey team captains in Dilip Tirkey and Jyoti Sunita Kullu. Orissa government should pursue to establish a National Sports Institute (of the kind in Patiala) in Rourkela. It should include programs in physical training, coach training, official training etc. This would specially contribute  in the enhancing the employment opportunities for Adivasis who constitute 50.74% of Sundergarh’s population.

Connectivity Apects:

• Rail Connectivity -Trains: While the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata is marvelous, connectivity to other places needs improvement. Dilip has a good list of new trains needed for Rourkela at http://rourkelarail.wetpaint.com/page/DEMANDS. This list is:
  • Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express( Day Time)
  • Rourkela-Berhampur Gajapati Express
  • Rourkela-Secundarabad/Hyderabad Express
  • Trains to New Delhi from Bhubaneswar via Rourkela OR Rourkela-Nizamuddin/New Delhi Express (Any extension of Ranchi-Hatia or Tatanagar trains will also work)
  • Trains to Patna and Eastern U.P.
• Rail Connectivity-Others: The Talcher-Bimlagarh line must be fast-tracked.
• Roads: The 4-laning of the state highway 10 connecting Sambalpur and Rourkela must be expedited.
• Air Connectivity: Rourkela airport must be made functional with commercial flights at the earliest.

Metro area:

• A larger metropolitan area for Rourkela that includes Kansbahal and Rajgangpur in the west and Biramitrapur in the North must be formally established.
• The state government should pursue Rourkela to be included in JNNURM.

(The above is from Google Maps.)

(The above is from "sarini: Occasional papers, No. 4, Adivasis of Rourkela")

Work in Progress…

41 comments November 15th, 2009

Rourkela people wary of student’s strike regarding BPUT

Following is from http://www.odiasamaja.org/bput-rkl-strong-opposition-against-hijacking-to-bbsr/.

6 comments November 13th, 2009

Push for ESIC medical college in Rourkela continues

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer. (A similar version also appears in tathya.in)

Leading non-resident Odia (NRO) Sandip Dasverma continues to bat for an ESI Medical College at Rourkela, though the State Government has turned a blind eye to the demand of the people of the steel city. Thanks to the alleged poor leadership of Rourkela, MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak, who is the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, the demand has not been heeded by the Government. However, justifying his stand, Dasverma has come out with a detailed memo to the Government.

Dasverma says that Odisha’s development should take into account development of all regions of the State. But such a thought process is sadly missing, for which Rourkela as location of an ESI Medical College is being ignored. And this has resulted in regional resentment and regionalism, warned he.

He says Rourkela should have been recommended for the first ESI Medical College rather than the second by the State Government, as recently reported in the media. With Bhubaneswar being the destination of nine other medical colleges, one more would not mean much to the capital city whereas it would certainly matter a lot for Rourkela, which has none, he argues.

Dasverma further adds that Rourkela has the main concentration of Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Insured persons, which is about 60 per cent, while the other 40 per cent live in and around Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Rourkela should, therefore, get the priority as location of an ESI Medical College and Hospital, he strongly feels.

He points out that people of four districts, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Jharsugda and Sambalpur would benefit due to an ESI Medical College and Hospital at Rourkela. Some more insured persons of the contiguous State of Jharkhand would also be benefitted.

He says Rourkela is the heart of Odisha’s tribal north-west and dotted with dirty mining industries.

The following two pieces appear in Sambada and Dainik Bhaskar. They have been obtained from http://www.odiasamaja.org/esic-medical-college-odia-samaja-odisa-development-teams-official-press-release/.

Add comment November 13th, 2009

Effort continues for ESIC medical college in Rourkela

The following two reports from Dharitri and Samaja are obtained from http://www.odiasamaja.org/more-media-coverage-esic-medical-college/.

From Dharitri:

From Samaja:

2 comments October 23rd, 2009

Progress in the right direction on the ESIC Rourkela front; but things need to move fast

The following is from Samaja e-paper. (Sambada also reports on this.)

I think the situation is clear. All the biggies from Rourkela, including MLA and minister from Rourkela Mr. Sarada Nayak, are now publicly united on this. The Orissa government does not seem to have any opposition except that they don’t want to lose it out of Orissa. So what is needed is an indication from the center that they do not mind having it in Rourkela. However, such an indication needs to come very soon as other reports still mention about progress with respect to the Bhubaneswar location. (See also this report in expressbuzz.com.)

1 comment October 14th, 2009

Polytechnics in Orissa that grant diploma in various engineering subjects

The following list is based on the information in the page http://sctevtorissa.in/collegedetail.aspx?Cid=2 extracted today.

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda-Puri area:

1. BOSE, Cuttack
2. DRIEMS, Tangi
3. ITT, Choudwar
4. Dhabaleswar Institute of Polytechnic, Athagarh
5. Gurukrupa Technical School, Narsinghpur, Cuttack
6. Kalinga Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar
7. Nilachal Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar
8. Women’s Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar
9. Krupajal Engineering School, Bhubaneswar
10. CV Raman Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar
11. Koustav School of Engineering, Bhubaneswar
12. CIPET, Bhubaneswar
13. Bhubaneswar Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar
14. Nalanda Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar
15. Suddhananda Residential Polytechnic, Phulnakhara
16. Ganesh Institute of Engineering & Technology, Bhubaneswar
17. Swami Vivekenanda School of Engineering & Technology, Bhubaneswar
18. ARYAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING TECH, Bhubaneswar
19. Ideal School of Engineering, Retang, Khurdha
20. Puri Engineering School, Puri

Berhampur area:

1. SMIT, Ankuspur
2. UCPES, Berhampur
3. Women’s Polytechnic, Berhampur
4. BSET, Berhampur
5. Gandhi School of Engineering, Berhampur
6. Aumasi Institute of Technical Education, Berhampur
7. Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur

Koraput-Jeypore area:

1. IEM, Jeypore
2. Hi-Tech Institute of Information Technology, Jeypore
3. Jeypore School of Engineering & Technology, Jeypore
4. Siddhartha Institute of Engineering & Technology, Koraput
5. SCSITM, Semiliguda

Rourkela area:

1. Purusottam School of Engineering & Technology, Rourkela
2. RIT, Kalunga
3. SKDAV, Rourkela
4. UGIE, Rourkela

Angul-Talcher-Dhenkanal area:

1. IGIT, Saranga
2. Pabitra Mohan Institute of Technology, Talcher
3. KIMET, Chhendipada, Angul
4. Women’s Polytechnic, Dhenkanal
5. Orissa Institute of Engineering & technology, Dhenkanal
6. Pathani Samanata Institute of Engineering & Technology, Dhenkanal

Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Baragarh-Sundergarh area:

1. JES, Jharsuguda
2. BDSE, Brajarajnagar
3. SES, Sundergarh
4. PKAIET, Baragarh

Rayagada area:

1. MITS INSTITUTE OF POLYTECHNIC, RAYAGADA
2. UGMIT, Rayagada

Others:

1. BSET, Barapada (Bhadrakh)
2. BSE, Balasore
3. MSE, Baripada
4. SITE, Bolangir
5. Kalahandi School of Engineering & Technology, Bhawanipatana (Kalahandi)
6. Biju Patnaik Institute of Technology, Phulbani (Kandhamala)
7. OSME, Keonjhar
8. Sri Polytechnic, Komonda, Nayagarh
9. Mahamaya Institute of Medical & Technology Science, Nuapada

1 comment October 11th, 2009

All party meeting on ESIC medical college in Rourkela: Samaja

New Indian Express also reports on it; Tathya.in has yet another report on it; Pioneer also has another report on it.

(Thanks to Prasant Sahoo for the item below.)

The good part of this report is that BJD MLA Subrat Tarai chaired the meeting.

1 comment October 10th, 2009

ESIC Medical college in Rourkela; latest news

Update: Various trade unions and local organizations in Rourkela have signed a joint memorandum. The details are at:  http://www.odiasamaja.org/esic-medical-college-trade-unions-variour-organizations-support/. 

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Hundreds of e-mails reached the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) urging him to impress upon the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for establishment of the college and hospital in the steel city. The Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Labour were flooded with mails and memorandums. Bur it seems nobody in the Government is bothered about the hue and cry raised by the people from various sections of the society.

“If there is any place fit for an ESIC Medical College & Hospital, it is Rourkela,” said a top Orissa Government official. Then how come the Government is silent over the demand and has allowed the ESIC to set up the college and hospital in Bhubaneswar? “You better ask the Chief Minister,” said the officer on the condition of anonymity. Now, as the ESIC has been allotted land on the outskirts of the capital city, chances of Rourkela seem remote, admitted the official.

Interestingly, when the people of Rourkela joined the bandwagon for demanding the medical college and hospital in the steel city, local MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak, who is the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare remained silent. Similarly, Minister for Labour and Employment Puspendra Singh Deo, who also hails from Western Orissa, quietly favoured the college to come up in Bhubaneswar.

The ESIC will spend Rs 600 crore for the medical college and hospital, a dental college and a nursing college in the same campus, said sources. Officials point out that as there is no full-fledged airport near Rourkela, the Centre will not agree to setting up of a medical college there.

The mention about Rourkela not having airport and hence center may not agree is bogus. I don’t see any connection betweem an airport and an ESIC medical college. Indeed two other locations where ESIC medical colleges are being established do not have a nearby airport either. They are Gulbarga, Karnataka and Alwar, Rajasthan. (Thanks to Prashant babu for pointing to  the second one.)

3 comments October 5th, 2009

Knowledge Commission has recommended 50 national universities; Orissa must plan ahead and be prepared for it

Update: The following was written before I saw this article in Pioneer.

Tathya.in has a report on Dr. Digamabara Patra’s request for a national or central university in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi. A lot of the arguments made there make sense. Many of the recent central universities have been established in rural and semi-urban areas and indeed there is no reason why one should not be established in Bhawanipatna; especially since its citizens have been asking for one for more than 2 decades.

However, as mentioned in the article http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3229 adequate infrastructure seems to have been an important factor in determining the locations of the new IITs, IIMs and National universities. 

For Orissa to have them in locations ouside of Bhubaneswar, there are two ways to go about it.

1. Argue that adequate infrastructure should not be a requirement or they will automatically come once the institutions are established.
2. Develop areas outside Bhubaneswar to have adequate infrastructure.

To me pursuing (2) has a higher chance of success than pursuing (1) and even if (1) is successful the institutes/universities in locations without appropriate infrastructure will struggle until the infrastructure eventually catches up which may take a long time if just left to fate. (Such a struggle may result in Orissa not being given in appropriate numbers additional central/national institutes.) 

[In India people sometime point out that IIT Kharagpur was established in a rural location. First, Kharagpur is only 116 kms from Howrah. Second it has been a major railway junction for a long time. Third it was the first IIT and for a long time only one of 5 IITs. Similarly Roorkee was the oldest engineering college and is close to Haridwar and Dehradun. There are a few top universities and institutions in the US that are in rural areas, but these are exceptions, and the infrastructure in rural areas of US are quite good compared to rural areas of India. For example, Univ of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Penn State University in State College, PA are often mentioned in that context. But both do have small airports with commercial flights.]

Before we suggest what needs to be done regarding developing areas outside Bhubaneswar to have adequate infrastructure, let us address what may be coming in the future and why Orissa needs to do this urgently so as to not risk missing future allocations of national institutions.

The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) in its December 2006 note on higher education has explicitly suggested 50 national universities in India. It says:

We recommend the creation of up to 50 National Universities that can provide education of the highest standard. As exemplars for the rest of the nation, these universities shall train students in a variety of disciplines, including  humanities, social sciences, basic sciences, commerce and professional subjects, at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The number 50 is a long term objective. In the short run, it is important to begin with at least 10 such universities in the next 3 years. It is worth noting that the National Universities need not all be new universities. Some of the existing universities could also be converted into National Universities, on the basis of rigorous selection criteria, to act as exemplars. We recognise that there could be a human resource constraint if faculty members are not available in adequate numbers to establish these universities.

The current government has implemented most of the recommendations of the NKC and exceeded some of them. For example, instead of the recommendation of 10 national universities in the three years following the report (2007-2010), establishment of 14 have been announced. Moreover, the higher education budget has been increasing drastically from one five year plan to the next. The 12th five year plan starts in 2012 and it is expected that it will take up on the long range objectives of the knowledge commission. In other words there could and should be more central and national universities in the 12th plan.

[My impression is that how soon additional national universities are established will depend on the success of the first 14. It seems to me that the locations of the first 14 have been greatly influenced by the consideration of, where in each of the states selecetd,  does it have the best chance to succeed.]

Unless Orissa is prepared for it, Orissa may lose out pieces of those plans on lack of infrastructure grounds. Other states with multiple locations with adequate infrastructure will get preference and Orissa may lose out.

However, 2012 is still 3 years away and if adequate steps are taken very soon, Orissa should be able to get its fair share. 

The pity is there are areas in Orissa which are on the verge of having the necessary infrastructure, mostly through private investment, but because of non-constructive opposition, blind suspicion towards industrialization and the relcucatnce of many to speak out in favour of development and industrialization, the development and associated infrastructure building has been greatly hampered. The governments (state and center) are also at fault for their sluggishness on some aspects.

Following are some suggestions:

1. The state government should push for the completion of the airport in Jharsuguda within a year.
2. It should make an all-out effort to have commercial flights operating out of the existing airport in Rourkela. In general, the people of the area need to recognize the existing infrastructure and potential of Rourkela and take advantage of it. Currently, as a friend of mine would say, Rourkela is an orphan. This is a pity. It is a big asset to Orissa, especially to the western parts of Orissa; but is severely underutilized and undermined.
3. Coming back to Jharsuguda, the people there should follow a smarter approach in not opposing and rather facilitating industries coming up there, and at the same time being vigilant about environmental and land acquisition related R & R issues. If these industries and investment are allowed to materialize there soon, then Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area would become a large metro with adequate infrastructure to have and support any and all kinds of institutes and universities. But will the people do that? Or will they continue to be controlled by or scared of the anti-industry activists.
4. Similarly, both Bhawanipatna (Lanjigarh to be precise) and Rayagada areas have industrial investors who have been senselessly opposed. If the people would take a smarter approach that mixes development with being vigilant about environmental and land acquisition related R & R then both these areas would be able to get infrastructure where a central university (and possibly more) would flourish. But will the people do that? Or will they continue to be controlled by or scared of anti-industry activists. In Lanjigarh, Kalahandi, the local MP has recently taken a more sensible approach. I hope there is a quick resolution as this area desperately needs development and the resulting infrastructure.
5. The state government should push for the rail infrastructure, particularly, the Khurda-Balangir line, the Talcher-Bimlagarh line and connectivity to Kalahandi, to be completed at the earliest.

The above is extremely important for the development of the western parts of Orissa where there is often a feeling of neglect. If the people there do not follow a smarter approach and only follow the strange approach that many (not all) seem to be following (such as opposing industrialization and thus infrastructure building but wanting things that need infrastructure) the places that follow a smarter approach (inside and outside Orissa) would be gainers. The same is happening in some other places in Orissa too  – Paradeep and Kalinganagar come to mind, but these places are in closer proximity to Bhubaneswar and because of that they may be less harmed.

Add comment October 4th, 2009

Some National Institutions/Universities and their locations; planning for the future in Orissa

Tathya.in has a report that mentions some official saying that because of the lack of an airport in Rourkela central government will not agree to have ESIC medical college in Rourkela. I think this is a completely frivolous argument; I don’t see much connection between an ESIC medical college and an airport. (Often airport is a codeword for adequate infrastructure. If that is the case Rourkela indeed has the infrastructure for an ESIC medical college.)

However, in regards to certain centrally funded institutions, such a requirement is in the background and mentioned by journalists, even if they may not be spelled out explicitly. So while pushing for an ESIC medical college in Rourkela, we should set our target to push for more functioning airports as a next action item. Following is a more detailed analysis.

Given below are the locations of some national institutions and some related attributes. It is easy to see that for the locations of IITs, IIMs and National Universities being near (say within 120 kms or 2 hrs) an operational airport has been an important factor. For national universities, in addition being in a large (1 million plus metropolitan area) area with other research institutes has also been spelled out as an important criteria and it is reflected in the locations that are picked.  

On the other hand, the newly established central universities are in towns of all sizes and the locations of the NITs are mixed. The next level centrally funded but locally focused technological institutes, SLIET, Longowal, ABAGKC IET, Malda and Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar are on purpose established in rural areas and smaller towns. Unlike the NITs these institutions take only local students and also have programs focused on local needs. Nevertheless, their quality need not be bad. For example, SLIET is considered quite good.

Looking to the future following are some points relevant to Orissa.

• For Orissa to have future central institutions like IIM, SPA, etc. to be in a location outside of Bhubaneswar, Orissa must push for the quick establishment of airports and other infrastructure in other parts of the state. For example, the airports in Jharsuguda and Rourkela are the closest to be operational and they should  have scheduled flights at the earliest. Otherwise new centrally funded institutions may again be established near Bhubaneswar and crying hoarse after the fact may not be productive.
• Similarly the knowledge commission has proposed the establishment of 50 national universities in the long run. Considering that the education budget significantly increases from one 5 yr plan to the next, I would not be surprised if there is another set of them made during the 12th plan. Orissa must be prepared for that and by that time (there is a short window) have other areas in Orissa with adequate infrastructure that are being deemed necessary for a national university.
• Orissa must take advantage of the industrial and investment interests in Orissa, mostly due to its minerals, and develop metropolitan areas with larger population base. Currently the local people are creating roadblocks rather than helping in such development.
• In 2010 we should do our best to convince the planning commission, the PM and MHRD that the 12th plan (starting 2012) should include more centrally funded institutions of the kind that can be located in rural or semi-urban areas. In particular,
  • A centrally funded but locally focused technological institute (like SLIET) in all states. The one in Orissa could be located in Kalahandi or Balangir, the other two KBK districts that lack centrally funded institutions.
  • Two regional universities in each major states that are funded 50-50 by the state and the center. (This would be better than one centrally funded institute.)
  • Multiple branches of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in districts with high tribal population.
     

The NITs.

The IITs. 

National Universities

New Central Universities

IIMs

Add comment October 4th, 2009