Alumni donate Rs 50 lakh to Gangadhar Meher University

Sambalpur: Gangadhar Meher University (GMU), Sambalpur has received Rs 50 lakh donation from alumni and local people in the last two months, an official said.

A retired school teacher Aparna Mahapatra had donated Rs 20 lakh to the GMU on Monday. The contribution was made from the trust established in the memory of her late daughter, Roshni Mohapatra.

The donation will be utilised to establish a fellowship programme for PhD scholars at the varsity. Though Aparna is not an alumnus of the institution, her elder sister studied here, said the official of the university.

A retired principal of Parsuram Mishra Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (PMIASE), Sambalpur, Kishori Dash, who is an alumni of the institution, donated Rs 10 lakh to the institution on October 10.

She donated the fund towards the scholarship account of the university which will be utilised for the monthly fellowship of a meritorious female PhD scholar, said the official.

On October 6, a 92-year-old old academician Giridhari Prassad Guru, who was principal of the erstwhile Gangadhar Meher College (now university), contributed Rs 10 lakh to the institution. He is also an alumnus of the institution.

According to the varsity official, the donation, made by Professor Guru, will be placed in a fixed deposit, and the annual interest amount will be utilised by the varsity to award scholarships, based on criteria determined by the donor. Apart from the individual contribution, the institution also received funds from a sports organisation in this period. On September 5, Sambalpur-based sports organisation, Meher Association, which comprises alumni of the institution, donated Rs 10 lakh for the development of sports infrastructure of the institution. The money was donated under the ‘Mo College/University Abhiyan’.

“The alumni and locals are coming forward to donate because of their strong attachment with the institution. Moreover, the perception about the growth of the institution outside is also a reason,” said varsity Deputy Registrar U C Pati.

In June this year, retired professor Shankar Prasad Pati, who is an alumnus of the institution, donated Rs 10 lakh to his alma mater under the ‘Mo College/University Abhiyan’ so that it can be utilised in a better way for the benefit of students.In May 2022, the family of late Bajrabahu Satpathy, who was also an alumnus of the institution, donated Rs 5 lakh to start a fellowship programme for bright and needy students. In 2021, noted gynaecologist and obstetrician Narayani Panda had contributed Rs 30 lakh to her alma mater, GMU.