Students agitate at the entrance of Bidyabhushan Sanskrit College . Telegraph picture

Balangir, June 27: Bidyabhusan Sanskruta Mahavidyalaya, the only Sanskrit college of western Orissa, here is struggling for existence.

The only lecturer left in this 99-year-old college is going to retire on June 30. Then it will have only a peon and a clerk to run the institution. This has triggered concern among the intellectual pockets of the town.

The college was established in 1912 by the then maharaja of Patna state Prithwiraj Singhdeo. After state merger, the government took over the college management and since then it had been enjoying the status of a government college. For many years the institution remained the only Sanskrit college of Orissa and still remains so in the KBK region and western Orissa.

Out of the sanctioned 13 posts, including a principal, 12 posts, including that of the principal, have been lying vacant for the past few years.

The college is running with one lecturer ofvyakarana (grammar), who, too, is going to retire this month.

Dr Dasarathi Mishra, who had been a student and then a teacher of the college for many years, said study had completely collapsed in the college as there were no lecturers in the college.

“Out of the sanctioned strength of 10, the college has one lecturer who will retire after two days. All other posts in subjects namely two posts of lecturers in literature, two posts in vyakarana, two posts in ayurveda, one post in jyotishi, one post in karmakanda have been lying vacant for more than 10 years,” Mishra said.

Earlier, hearing on a PIL by student activist Dolamani Pradhan, a division bench of the high court accused the government of being apathetic in running the college with one lecturer.

The bench had asked the government to fill up the posts of the college within 15 days. However, nothing turned up.

Secretary of the All Koshal Students’ Union (AKSU) Dolamani Pradhan, who had filed the PIL, said they would not allow the college to be shut down. “It is unfortunate that despite court stricture, the government was not doing anything to save the college from being shut down. The college will be without a lecturer to teach some 190 students after two days. We will fight on to save the college,” Pradhan said.

Recently, the college students had hit the street demanding adequate posting in the college. Ranjan Sahu, a student of the college, said if the government did not take notice of the college, it would be shut down soon.

“Since there are no lecturers in the college, our study is restricted to home. The college will be closed if the government does not take steps to fill up the posts,” he said.