Residents welcome move to set up IISER at Berhampur

State govt says 200 acre of land required for this purpose can be easily acquired as land is available near Berhampur and Gopalpur

Residents of Ganjam district have hailed Odisha government's decision to set up the proposed Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) here.

"The long-standing demand of the people of Ganjam has been fulfilled," said state's higher education minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi.

He said 200 acre of land required for this purpose could be easily acquired as land was available near Berhampur and Gopalpur.

The residents of Ganjam district were demanding IIM in Berhampur town while the state government preferred to build it at Sambalpur. They were also seeking inclusion of the region in the 'smart city' project. "They were disappointed when Sambalpur was recommended for IIM. We are happy to have IISER," said Berhampur MLA R C Chyaupatnaik.

There was not a single central institute in the district, the MLA said, thanking the state government for selecting Berhampur for the purpose.

Classes at the premier centrally-funded institute for basic sciences would start from the 2016-17 academic year.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced establishment of IISERs in Odisha and Nagaland. At present, there are five IISERs under the ministry of human resource development. These are located in Bhopal, Mohali, Pune, Kolkata and Thiruvanantapuram.