(From top) Rath yatra of Regional College of Management in Bhubaneswar, young RJs of Radio SOA 90.4 pose with Ashok Panda, minister of state tourism and culture and Tarini Prasad Sahoo, a law student of Utkal University, felicitates professor Prabir Kumar Pattnaik on his last day of service at the varsity. Telegraph pictures

Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, celebrated rath yatra on its campus with pomp and show this year. During the celebrations held on June 29, however, outsiders outnumbered students in pulling the chariots. In a situation where the varsity is already grappling with the problem of outsiders creating trouble on the campus, the matter was overlooked because of the festive atmosphere. Like every year, the chariots were pulled from Jagannath temple on the campus to Gundicha temple in VSS Nagar. Some of the faculty members rued that the students’ participation was gradually declining.

Exam blues

The ongoing PG entrance examinations at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, have put students appearing the exams on a sticky wicket. The lack of basic amenities at the venue is creating serious problems for them. Recently, a number of students complained about the non-availability of water and lack of toilet facilities.

The two-hour exams that grill the pupils and test their preparedness leaves them with parched throats but despite complaining to varsity authorities, the students complained that no corrective measures had been taken.

“It is very difficult to concentrate on the exams when you don’t have water and proper toilet facilities. We asked for water several times and then got it in the last half hour. Some of my friends had to walk to another block during the exam as there were no toilets near the examination hall,” said a student.

Farewell, sir

Members of a social group named United for Social Interests (USI) formed by students of Utkal University, felicitated Professor Prabir Kumar Pattnaik on his last day of service at the varsity.

The professor, who retired as head of the postgraduate department of law, was popular among the students.

“He took a lot of interest in the activities of students. He was always cheerful and very helpful,” said Tarini Prasad Sahoo, a law student. The students also presented Pattnaik with a memento as a token of their appreciation for his contributions to the university and his warm and cordial relationship with his students. The professor was overwhelmed by the gesture.

Vishal Mishra, student of KIIT and Svetlana Mahapatra of IIIT, Bhubaneswar, speak at Google I/O Extended Odisha. Telegraph picture

Google boost

Vishal Mishra, a student of KIIT and Svetlana Mahapatra of IIIT, Bhubaneswar, under the guidance of Google Business Group, Bhubaneswar, manager Ananda Kumar Mishra, organised Google I/O Extended Odisha at KIIT School of Rural Management on June 26. Google Business Group, Bhubaneswar is a community of business professionals and entrepreneurs sharing knowledge about Google web technologies for business success.

Google I/O is an annual developer-focused conference held by Google in San Francisco, California that features highly technical, in-depth sessions focused on building web, mobile and enterprise applications with Google and open web technologies such as Android, Chrome, App Engine, Google APIs, Google Web Toolkit etc.

High five

The fifth foundation day of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, was celebrated at the Sir Visveswaraya auditorium of the university on July 1.

Chairman-cum-managing director of Nalco Ansuman Das, graced the occasion as chief guest. During his talk, he focused on development of leadership skills and collaborative attitude within the students. He also explained the concept and application of SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threats) analysis in career-making. He appreciated the contribution made by the university in the field of technical education and research. A cultural programme was also organised by the students.

Santhali on the table

North Orissa University is considering offering distance education on the Santhali language after taking the decision of offering a postgraduate course in Sanskrit from the current session. Vice-chancellor P.K. Mishra, who recently assumed charge, said: “We are offering, presently, the Santali language under the self-financing scheme. At the same time, a group of students approached me for starting a distance course on the language. I assured them that if the number of interested candidates was more, then we could consider it. The Sanskrit postgraduate course will operate from the current session,” he said.

Maths results

Recently-released results of the final year exams of Biju Patnaik College in Jaydev Vihar, Bhubaneswar, have thrown up a bewildering statistic. All students of the mathematics department, who had opted for chemistry as their major elective, have failed. Only one mathematics student had passed and he had opted for botany as his major elective. The teachers, who are equally confused, asked the students to go for re-checking.

Compiled by Pratyush Patra