CNN-IBN collaborated on a piece at ibnlive.com which talks about multiple protests in AP by various political parties regarding the location of IIT in Andhra and in that context also talks about shifting of IIT from Orissa to AP, and the CM of Orissa writing a letter to the PM about it.
This news is also carried by moneycontrol.com.
February 1st, 2007
Various news papers report that the CM has written to the PM on the IIT shifting issue. Following is some excerpts from the New Indian Express article.
BHUBANESWAR: Taking strong exception to the reported move of the Centre to shift the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) from Orissa to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that a greenfield IIT should be sanctioned for the State.The Centre had announced establishment of three greenfield IITs in the country during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Orissa was included in this proposal, which was also announced by Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development MM Fatmi on August 28 last year at Patna.Describing the move by the Centre to establish the IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan as ‘shocking’, the Chief Minister has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister in setting up such an institute in Orissa. …
This news also appears in Pioneer, Samaja, Sambada and Dharitri (2). Telegraph has an article on the subject with some context, but the telegraph article is a bit erroneous as it does not mention NISER and the IISER issue correctly. A first response by the Congress party appears in a news item by NewIndiaPress.
(The CM’s letter follows.)
February 1st, 2007
Update2: I am told by people from Bhubaneswar that New indian Express and Dharitri also published this news. (I have not yet found those news items in the Internet editions.)
Update1: Sambada also has a news item on this.
Pioneer, Tathya and Odisha.com have news items regarding how Orissa was in the original list of locations for the new IITs; so much so that TOI reported that Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi on 28-8-06 said, “The proposal for one IIT for Bihar and two for Orissa and one Western Indian state besides one IIIT to Bihar will be included in 11th Five Year Plan.” With respect to Orissa he probably referred to one of the 3 new IITs proposed to be in the 11th plan and a branch campus of IIT KGP in BBSR. However, later news reports say that the 3 new IITs will be in Bihar, Rajasthan and AP. Yet again, Orissa has been sidelined by MHRD.
This is explosive news. Yet again Orissa has been sidelined by the HRD ministry. Like the NIS case, all Orissans should protest this (non-violently and without disruptive methods such as Rasta Roko etc.) by writing letters to the PM, Sonia Gandhi, Planning Commission, various newspapers etc. and contacting the MPs, MLAs and political leaders of all parties of Orissa and urging them to bring this up in the Orissa assembly, in Indian Parliament, with the Planning Commission, with Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and with the PM. Orissa should not tolerate such repeated slights by the MHRD.
We will be assembling documents and pointers with respect to this injustice towards Orissa and collecting all relevant information in a blog specifically made for this.
2 comments January 29th, 2007
Education in general and higher education in particular seems to be one of the focus items, and rightly so, for the 11th five year plan. The approach paper to the 11th plan says: “Only about 8% of the relevant age group (of Indians) go to university whereas in many developing countries, the figure is between 20 and 25%. There is a clear need to undertake major expansion. … New colleges and universities must be set up, to provide easier access to students in educationally backward districts.†Similar sentiment was recently expressed by the planning commission deputy Chairman Mr. Ahluwalia when he agreed with Shekhar Gupta that higher education is a problem and went on to say, “What has happened is we suddenly realized that if the economy is now growing at 8 per cent, and could grow at 9 per cent, the skills the economy needs will become a constraint.†The Finance minister in his recent convocation address at Symbiosis International University also echoed similar sentiments.
Continue Reading 6 comments January 21st, 2007
Dear all:
A year back we all wrote to the PM and Mrs. Gandhi about the NIS
shifting and our letters significantly contributed in convincing the govt
of India to announce the establishment of NISER.
There is a similar opportunity now and we must not let it go.
The Planning Commission is in the process of making its 11th plan and
there have been news items saying that they plan to include 3 new IITs,
several IIMs, some central universities, etc. in that plan. It is reported that
some HRD officials have said that “We will look at new town and cities
for establishing the centres of excellence.”
Thus the timing is right to demand that one of the new IITs (at an estimated cost
of 4000 crores) be in Orissa and that a central university be established in the KBK area.
Continue Reading December 1st, 2006
Dear MPs and BJD/BJP/Congress/CPI/CPI(M)/OGP/etc. leaders of Orissa:
Last year you took up the case of the National Institute of Science
and met the prime minister about it and it had a huge impact.
We have embarked on a campaign to have one of the new IITs in Orissa
and have a central university in the KBK region. We have written the
attached letter to the prime minister, the HRD minister, the
minister of tribal affairs, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and the planning
commission.
Continue Reading December 1st, 2006
To:
Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister Government of Orissa
Dear Chief Minister of Orissa:
In the past you have championed the cause of the backward districts
of Orissa and fought for the approval of the Vijaywada-Ranchi
highway. You have also augmented the KBK BRGF with the Biju KBK
program and have written an editorial in Indian Express on tribal
welfare.
Continue Reading 12 comments December 1st, 2006
To:
Dr. Manmohan Singh
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi, India-110011.
Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
Fax: 91-11-23019545/91-11-23016857.
email: pmosb@pmo.nic.in
http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm
Mr. Arjun Singh
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Government of India Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110001
arjuns@sansad.nic.in
Mr. P. R. Kyndiah
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Shastri Bhavan,
New Delhi-110001, India.
dirit@tribal.nic.in
cc: Smt. Sonia Gandhi
President: INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
24, Akbar Road, New Delhi 110011 ,
INDIA
TEL : 91-11-23019080
FAX : 91-11-23017047
10janpath@vsnl.net aicc@congress.org.in
Continue Reading 1 comment December 1st, 2006
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