Prof Digambara Patra, a Non-Resident Odia (NRO), has once again urged the Odisha Government to set up an agricultural university in KBK area as per the promise made in the BJD manifesto before the 2014 elections.
“Four years have passed and another election is approaching. However, the second agriculture university is still awaiting the State Government’s approval,” lamented Patra.
He said the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) is overburdened at present in performing various tasks, including 10 colleges, 28 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and eight Regional Research Technology Transfer Stations. So there is a need for a Central Agriculture University to serve the needs of Odisha, particularly the undivided Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi (KBK) districts.
On the basis of erstwhile Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the State Government had asked Orissa University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT) to submit a feasibility report to upgrade an Agriculture University at Bhawanipatna as Kalahandi has emerged as one of the top producers of rice, cotton and pulses, which require advanced technology to meet the growing demand in the coming years.
Similarly, a former Agriculture Minister of the State had also announced that an Agriculture University would come in Bhawanipatna. However, due to some regional and State politics, the idea is in cold storage now, said he.
He argued that Bhawanipatna is the most suitable place for an agriculture university as Kalahandi is the top most agriculture producer, (mainly paddy, pulses, cotton) district among the KBK districts and it is among the 25th largest rice producer districts in India. Stating that the agriculture growth of the district is not yet fully explored, he hoped that the district would one day stand first in the country in agriculture growth.
Besides, Bhawanipatna is located at central point in the KBK region and near to all the existing Regional Research and Transfer Technology Stations and Regional Research and Transfer Technology Sub-Stations of OUAT in KBK and western Odisha.