Fourteen departments, 136 vacancies, two incomplete campuses without electricity or water connection and only a single train plying from Bhubaneswar that takes 15 hours to reach the destination - these are some of the problems faced by the Central University of Odisha at Koraput.

When educationalist Sachidananda Mohanty left his job as head of department of English at University of Hyderabad to take up the new role of vice-chancellor, he had one thing in mind that no challenge is insurmountable.

Mohanty, who was in town on Monday to meet chief minister Naveen Patnaik, spoke to Priya Abraham of The Telegraph about his vision and how he plans to shape up this university in the tribal dominated region of the state.

♦ After a gap of nearly two years, the Central University of Odisha at Koraput finally has you as its new vice-chancellor. What was your initial impression after visiting the campus?

At present, I see the institute neck deep in problems. There are logistical, communication, infrastructure, and large-scale vacancy issues, but I firmly believe that these problems will shortly be dealt with. By providing excellent infrastructure and quality teachers and by introducing innovative courses with immense employment potential, the varsity will shortly figure in the league of the best universities of the country.

♦ What will be your immediate measures?

After a brief stay at the place and having interacted with the students and teachers, we immediately opened two health care facilities.

We also carried out talks with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited authorities about affordable medical facilities for our students and staff. I have also been in talks with the ministry of human resource development to implement the existing schemes for Internet connectivity and Wi-Fi on the campus.

The MTNL will shortly be conducting a survey for the same.

♦ There seems to be excessive delay in setting up the new campus. What would you like to say regarding this.

That's true. Such a scattered set-up has affected the functioning of the university. We have discussed with the central public works department to expedite the construction of the academic block.

The university needs an excellent relation with the state government and we will try our best to establish proper linkages with the administration so that there is no further delay due to bureaucratic bottlenecks.

♦ While the varsity essentially provides education to students in underdeveloped region, can we expect that five years down the lane, students from cities such as Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will also wish to pursue a course at the university?

The vision of the varsity authorities emanates directly from the needs of the region and we have to realise that. However, introduction of innovative courses such as cognitive sciences, nano technology, aeronautical engineering etc will definitely draw students from across the state.

In fact, the university will very shortly adopt at least two nearby villages for ensuring inclusive growth.