Bhawanipatna(Swaraj Agrawal):Members of the Kalahandi Students’ Union and students from affiliated colleges in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts staged a protest today in front of Maa Manikeswari University, blocking the college’s main gate.The students were demanding the reimplementation of the ‘NUA-O’ Scholarship, which was launched under the previous state government led by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.The scheme was initially introduced with the objective of transforming higher education, fostering human development, and supporting students’ academic growth across Odisha. Under the ‘NUA-O’ initiative, students enrolled in all state universities, government colleges, aided institutions, and private colleges admitted through the SAMS portal were eligible for financial assistance during their undergraduate and postgraduate studies.Approximately 5.8 lakh students across Odisha had benefited from this scheme, where male students received ₹10,000 and female students received ₹11,000. This scheme proved particularly helpful for students from economically disadvantaged and middle-income families.During the protest, students submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister through the university Vice-Chancellor. The letter demanded the reinstatement of the ‘NUA-O’ scheme or the introduction of a new scholarship program that would continue to provide financial support to students. The student leaders emphasized that such initiatives are crucial for promoting excellence and quality in higher education by reducing economic barriers for underprivileged students.If the demand is not fulfilled within a month, we will be forced to go on an indefinite hunger strike,warned the protesting students.Prominent student leaders present during the agitation included Umakant Nial,former Students Union President Ajit Sahu, Chaitanya Bag, Linkan Bag, Ashutosh Pujari, Manas Ranjan Sindur, Saurabh Mishra,Omkar Dandasena, Laxmikant Saraf,Abhinav Pattnaik,Lokesh Bishi, Akash Patnaik and Rohan Mahapatra.
