Bhubaneswar: Utkal University students on Thursday blocked the national highway to protest against the state government's decision to set up the second campus of the Rama Devi Women's University on the Utkal campus.

The students staged a demonstration near the vice-chancellor's office by burning tyres before locking the main entrance. Later, they had blocked the NH for around one hour. The blockade came to an end after police intervention. The students also submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor in this regard.

"The Utkal University campus has already shrunk because of encroachments. The land will be used for further expansion of the university. In this situation, we will not leave an inch of land to another university," said Ratan Kumar Digal, a student.

Faculty members and varsity employees supported the students. "A second campus of Utkal University is being built in Jajpur, but at the same time, the government took the decision to allocate 30 acres to Rama Devi Women's University. The agitation will continue till the government cancels the decision," said Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, another student.

The university, set up in 1943, offers 68 courses, including the postgraduate ones in 27 subjects, on the campus spread over 397 acres with more than 3,000 students. But sources said more than 40 acres on the campus had been encroached upon.

Utkal University Teachers' Association president Santosh Tripathy also urged the government to look into the matter. "The university land will be required for other infrastructure needed for a world-class institution. We are hopeful that the state government will reconsider its decision," he said.