The 79th Odisha formation day (Utkal Divas) was celebrated at the Utkal University of Culture in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Students of the varsity sang the Bande Utkal Janani, showing their devotion to the state. Suman Das, the registrar of the university, highlighted the importance of the day in his speech.

Vice-chancellor of the university, D.N. Jena spoke about the sacrifices of the great personalities of Odisha in 1936. Citing that the state was the first state to be formed in the country on the basis of language, Jena said the real tribute to these great personalities would be to protect our culture and language. He urged the students and youths to come forward and do their best to enrich Odia. Students also shared their opinions and felt motivated to carry forward the responsibilities of protecting the state, its language and culture and pass it to the future generations.

Convocation ceremonies

A batch of 403 students belonging to different programmes received their degrees last week at the first convocation ceremony of the Xavier University and the 24th convocation ceremony of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. The students received their degrees in doctoral-level fellow programmes in management, masters in business administration, masters in human resource management, masters in rural management and post-graduate diploma in management. The meritorious students were presented with medals by governor S.C. Jamir and were followed by the presentation of certificates by the respective deans.

The C.M. Kandoi gold medal went to Atish Bakshi and Saswat Mohapatra while the faculty council gold medal went to the next 10 rank holders. The Orissa Jesuit Society medal and the Leeta Misra Ankkalkoti gold medal went to Shiksha Chourasia while Swayambhu Dutta received the Ravi Sharma Arsha Vidya gold medal. Gold medals were also awarded to several other students. Jamir also spoke at the event.

Earth Hour

Around 300 students of Utkal University took out a rally to observe Earth Hour on Saturday. Carrying solar lights, the students walked on the campus, and promoted the use of renewable sources of energy. They also switched off non-essential light from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on the day. A mass signature campaign was also organised on the campus where teachers and students wrote messages to make the Earth Hour productive.

Law students on a roll

The students of different law colleges had a whale of a time during the third national law fest called Armonica. The event was organised by Madhusudan Law College, Cuttack. Over 16 law colleges from across the state and three from other states took part with great enthusiasm. There were a number of moot court competitions, client counselling sessions, judgment writings, turncoat debates and quiz programmes related to judiciary.

It provided ample opportunities and exposure to the law students. "Being a law student, the fest provided me with a good scope to interact with my counterparts from other colleges and learn various skills and court etiquettes from experts," said Ashutosh Mahant, a law student.

Mahant said a special DJ night and other cultural programmes were also held on the valedictory session held on March 29. Students said they enjoyed the fest to the fullest.

Social responsibility

The students and members of the Ravenshaw University's social service guild distributed books and other study materials to children in various slums on March 30. It was aimed at creating awareness among others so that everybody contributes towards the development of the weaker sections.

The members said the small step taken by the guild would definitely inspire others who would come forward to help the needy children fulfil their dreams. The members also encouraged the children residing in the slums to carry on with their studies and persuaded the parents to ensure that their children continue their studies.

The team had also launched an awareness campaign on jaundice in different pockets of the city last month.

Care for the elderly

The Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital under the SOA University became the second hospital in the state to set up a geriatric clinic for the elderly on Wednesday.

The clinic would treat senior citizens on a priority basis and provide concessions. An emergency medicine department and a renovated therapeutic kitchen were also inaugurated to mark the day. Coinciding with the Utkal Divas, the geriatric clinic was inaugurated by an elderly patient in the presence of the vice-chancellor of the SOA University, Amit Banerjee, and other office bearers.

Banerjee laid stress on involving young doctors to attend emergency situations. A daylong special seminar, an integral part of the Continuing Medical Education on emergency medicine was also held.

Annual function

The annual function of the Gayatri College of Pharmacy in Sambalpur was organised last week. Students had a gala time as they took part in various cultural programmes. Hundreds of students and residents gathered at the venue to witness the cultural programmes. The performances of the students left the audience mesmerised.

A meeting was also organised during the occasion, which was attended by the chief guest and state textile and handloom minister Snehangini Chhuria. Rengali MLA, Ramesh Patua attended the occasion as the guest of honour and academician Dilip Panda was made the chief speaker. The speakers delivered motivational speeches and urged the students to aim high in life and put all their efforts to achieve their dreams.

Deliberations on Odia

A two-day seminar on the topic "The existence of Odia language and its excellence in the changing scenario" was organised by the post-graduate department of Odia in Fakir Mohan Autonomous College last week. It was sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Deliberations were made on the past, current and future of Odia language at the event. Several eminent personalities, including research scholars, students and teachers, expressed their views.

Siba Prasad Adhikary, the vice-chancellor of Fakir Mohan University and Sudarsan Nayak, the principal of the college, were among the speakers, who highlighted the history and the current scenario of Odia language. They also deliberated about the changing aspects of the language. Harishchandra Barik, the head of the Odia department and other teachers co-ordinated the mega event.