Despite inadequate support from the State Government, the Rama Devi Women’s College here is all set to welcome President Pranab Mukherjee on the inaugural ceremony of its three-day Golden Jubilee celebrations on November 30.
The college is leaving no stone unturned to make the event a grand success. Starting from renovation of infrastructure to special beautification of the campus, it has geared up its preparations in every field.
To give a new look, the entire building is given colour along with its floors being replaced with tiles. While the main gate of the college has been renovated, the in-campus garden is going through beatification work. The auditorium of the college has also been equipped with a new sound-and-lighting system.
An open-air permanent stage with a dimension of 48x24x3 has also been erected on its playground to accommodate nearly 5,000 audiences during the celebrations, said Principal Chitrangada Samanta Singhar.
“The main highlight of the inaugural ceremony will be unveiling of a 7-foot high commemoration statue symbolising women empowerment by the President. The statue, which comprises three women standing in different Odishi postures and carrying the globe on their heads, has been made by noted sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra,” she informed.
The three-day extravaganza will include various cultural events, including presentation of Odishi and folk dances, chorus and various exhibitions like science, art, textile and tribal exhibitions, etc.
While nearly 50 students will participate in cultural events on the first two days, the programmes on the last day will be organised by the college’s alumni association, said Niranjan Acharya, a reader in Economics in the college.
Besides, elaborate arrangements have also been made to maintain law and order situation on the occasion. The city DCP along with other senior police officials have already made a field visit for inspection, he added.
Nevertheless, while the college authority had sought monetary aid of Rs25 lakh from the Higher Education department for funding of these programmes, the latter had rejected it mentioning that there is lack of fund.
When asked, the Principal said, “Though the Government has rejected our plea, we have again sent our proposal to the Government and expect that it will be considerate on it”. However, all concerned departments of the State Government have been supporting the on-going developmental activities in the campus, she added.
Meanwhile, the college authority has sought cooperation from all industrial and corporate units for sponsorship of the President’s programmes.