Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
Pantnagar. The 76th Republic Day of the country was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the university. The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Manmohan Singh Chauhan, hoisted the flag at the Vice Chancellor’s residence Tarai Bhawan at 9:00 am in the presence of the university officials, and then at 9:25 am, hoisted the flag in Gandhi Maidan in the presence of a large number of students, teachers, scientists, officers and employees and took a pledge to maintain the unity and brotherhood of the country. He remembered the countless martyrs and freedom fighters on the foundation of whose sacrifices India stands independently. In his address on this occasion, Dr. Chauhan highlights on the theme of 76th Republic Day ‘Golden India, Heritage and Development’ and said that in India we have inherited agriculture, culture and traditions, in which there is a need to take agriculture forward. He said that our main objective is to develop new technologies through research work by producing quality human resources and to make those technologies reach the stakeholders/farmers. While informing about the achievements and progress of the university, he said that the university has produced more than 45,000 quality human resources who are providing their services not only in the country but also abroad. He told that the university alumni are making significant contributions in various fields. Recently, Mr. Pankaj Joshi took over as Chief Secretary in the Government of Gujarat and Mr. Vinay Kwatra, an alumnus of the Agricultural College, is contributing as Ambassador in the USA. He said that 1172 students were awarded degrees in the convocation held last year. He informed that the university is a pioneer in the development of various crop species and techniques as well as in the publication of good quality research papers. To further strengthen research, MoUs were signed with national and international institutions, in which three universities of Russia and Slovenia are prominent. This year, four projects of AICRPs funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, namely pulses, mushroom, organic farming and biocontrol were honoured with the best centre award. Many scientists of the university have also been honoured various awards for their excellent work. The Directorate of Extension Education and Krishi Vigyan Kendras made full efforts to promote the new technologies developed by the university scientists. In this sequence, 352 trainings were organized for farmers last year. Various departments are contributing wholeheartedly in the interest of the university at their level. Last year, there has been a 24% increase in the production of paddy on the University farm. The Security Department of the University has kept the security system of the University tight, for which he congratulated the Security Officer and his team. In the same sequence, CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire University campus and made polythene free also. At the end, he once again wished everyone a Happy Republic Day and concluded his speech by shouting ‘Jai Hind’ three times.
The flag hoisting was performed by the officials at various research centers, including the Terai Bhavan and Gandhi Park, as well as Dr. Jayant Singh, the Chief General Manager (Farm) in the University Farm.
On this occasion, a cricket match was played between Vice Chancellor XI and Registrar XI in the Physical Education Section, in which Vice Chancellor XI defeated Registrar XI. On this occasion, all the Deans, Directors etc. of the University were present.
