Students of Government Women’s College, Baripada, at an NSS camp held in Mayurbhanj

The NSS wing of the Government Women’s College of Baripada recently conducted several activities at Kadalibadia village under the Samakhunta block of Mayurbhanj. Around 25 students participated in the weeklong camp. Besides cleaning roads and clearing clogged drains in the village, the cadres also spread awareness among the locals on hygiene and other constitutional rights of the citizens. They also motivated the villagers on the need to possess voter identity card, Aadhar card and bank accounts under the Jan Dhan scheme. College principal Subash Chandra Patra, former principal Rabinarayan Dash, and lecturers Durgasanka Sarangi, Bishnu Charan Jena, Sagarika Singh and Madhusmita Ghodei also took part in the camp.

Sporty affair

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, (XIMB) recently conducted a three-day annual sports fest called Athlos 6.0. Various colleges took part in the event. The sport sessions included a football match between the students of XIMB and IMI, Bhubaneswar. Both the teams played with great spirit and Sanjeeban from XIMB scored two goals helping XIMB win 6-0. Xquizzite, the quizzing committee of XIMB, conducted a sports quiz. Samuel Koshi and Mirza Farhan from XIMB won the contest. Table tennis, carom and chess competitions were also organised. Athlos is the annual sports fest conducted by Sportscom, the sports association of XIMB.

Focus on smart grid

Indian Institute Technology, Bhubaneswar, (IIT-B) will organise a national-level workshop on the recent developments in smart-grid technologies. The two-day event will begin on November 8. It will focus on issues such as wide-area monitoring, communication, control and protection, security for effective and reliable operation of the power networks. Topics such as intelligent protection and control in smart grid, wide-area monitoring and cyber security in smart grid would be discussed at the workshop. It will also include simulation practices on real time digital simulator platform.

For a special cause

Institute for Helping the Disabled (IHD), Bhubaneswar, recently organised its 19th annual function. Former diplomat Abasar Beuria was chief guest on the occasion. He spoke on the hidden talents of physically-challenged people and the need to showcase them. Speaking on the occasion, Padma Bhushan Ramakant Rath said: “Each person in this country should take steps to encourage the special children in order to boost their confidence.”

Deal inked

A motorcycle giant has signed an MoU with Bhubaneswar-based Gram Tarang Employability Training Services (GTET), a social entrepreneurial outreach of Centurion University of Odisha, to open a training school on its premises. The school aims at grooming youth from the economically weaker sections so that they are able to find jobs. Speaking on the occasion, Ravinder Singh, vice-president (strategy and planning) of the company, said the school would impart job-oriented training to those from the economically weaker section of the society. This will include two-wheeler repairing and servicing that meets industry standards. “After successful completion of the course, students will receive a technical academy certificate that will help them gain suitable employment,” he said.

Cleanliness drive

The students of Malkangiri College and Nehru Yuva Kendra initiated the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at Padmagiri village in Malkangiri district. Hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers, led by NSS programme co-ordinator Ranjan Kumar Swain, organised an hour-long cleanliness drive from the bus stand to the community health centre in the village. A rally was taken out on the occasion to spread the message of non-violence and cleanliness among the people. Speaking on the occasion, Swain urged the youngsters to follow the path of Mahatma Gandhi and keep their environment clean. Padmagiri sarpanch Arjun Madkami and social activists Sarat Ray and Srikant Samal were also present.

Exams rescheduled

In view of cyclone Hudhud, the higher education department had decided to cancel the mid-semester examinations at Utkal University and Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT). The mid-semester examinations of Utkal University, originally to be held on October 13, 14 and 15, will now be held on October 27, 28 and 29. OUAT has also cancelled all its examinations till October 17.

Convocation

The sixth convocation of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla, will be conducted on November 3. Governor S.C. Jamir and R. Natarajan, who is both a former AICTE chairman and a former IIT Madras director, will speak at the event.