Centre urged for Central status to Utkal University

Bhubaneswar: Odisha unit of Samajwadi Party today urged the Centre to grant Central University status to Utkal University which completes 75th year of its establishment next month.

"Utkal University is the 17th oldest university of the country which was established on 27th November, 1943 to fulfil the hope and aspiration of the people of Odisha," Samajwadi Party Odisha unit president Rabi Behera said in a letter to Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Stating that the the university is going to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee, Behera said this varsity has became the medium of development and tool to accelerate the socio-economic progress of Odisha.

Many of its old students have earned name and fame in the country and outside. The Union Petroleum and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is an alumnus of this University, Behera pointed out in the letter.