Rourkela: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Odisha’s Rourkela city celebrated Utkal Divas in the campus on Saturday with an event on the theme ‘G20 Jan Bhagidari’.
NIT Rourkela is one of 10 anchor institutes which would host various events to create awareness about the G20 presidency and the relevance of public participation. The institute will organise and coordinate G20 Jan-Bhagidari events for Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, and Bargarh districts as a part of celebrating India’s G20 presidency.
The programme, organised by the Utkal Dibasa Celebration Committee, NIT Rourkela in collaboration with the Odia Sahitya Samaj Club (Student Activity Centre, NITR), was inaugurated by Prof K Umamaheshwar Rao, Director, NIT Rourkela.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Rao said, “Thousands of Odisha people have sacrificed their lives to get the freedom that we are enjoying today. It is time to pay back by taking responsibility to analyse the societal problems and then offering a solution through innovative methods.”
He appealed to the youths of the state to focus more on incubation and innovation and aim at being job creators to strengthen and boost the regional economy and increase social standards. “With the G20 presidency this year, we have a vital role to play as many parts of the world are having a tough time, and this is the opportunity for us Indians to lead the world,” he added.
The programme organiser, Prof RK Biswal; Prof Rohan Dhiman (Registrar); Prof Basanta Kumar Panda, Project Director, Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Odia Language, Ministry of Education; Prof Sanjay Hati, HoD, Odia language, Sushilavati Government College, Rourkela and Omm Priyadarshi Chhotaray, alumnus of NIT Rourkela also spoke.
Several cultural programmes including Odissi dance, song and poem recitation by school children and Sambalpuri group dance were performed on the occasion. An exhibition on the history, culture, and heritage of Odisha was organised by the Odia Sahitya Samaj.
