Paradip 30, 01, 2024: On the occasion of the 7th death anniversary of late Dr. Satyanand Panda, eminent educationist, writer, organizer, guide of multiple educational institutions, Dr. Satyanand Panda Memorial Trust has awarded scholarships to four talented students. The programme was held at Janata Government High School set up by Dr Panda at Jhimani village under Kujang block of Jagatsinghpur district.
Ram Kumar Swain, a student who topped in the matriculation examination of Janata School last year, and Manasmita Tarai of the school, who was the first among the girls, were awarded the scholarship. Similarly Simran Chaudhary, who topped in the plus two examination of Narayan Birbar Samanta Higher Secondary School in Jhimani, Ispita Mohapatra, who topped in plus two arts, of the insitiution was awarded the scholarship. The Narayan Birbar Samanta Higher Secondary School was establihsed under the the patronage of Dr. Panda.
While Ispita is currently pursuing her BA at Tirtol College, Simran is also studying less at Shailbala Women’s College in Cuttack. Ram is currently studying in Plus Two at Ulopsis Higher Secondary School in Tirtol, while Manasmita is studying in Plus Two at Newton Higher Secondary College in Bhubaneswar. So far, 31 meritorious students of the region have been awarded scholarships by the trust.
Dr Banaprabha Parida, Principal of Narayan Birbar Samanta Higher Secondary School, Mayadhar Das, former headmaster of Janata Government High School, Janaki Ballabh Mohanty, current headmaster of the school and Prabhas Tripathy, member of Dr. Satyanand Panda Memorial Trust and nephew of Dr Panda, handed over trophies and cheques to the students. Dr Panda was the first person in the state to receive a doctorate degree in anthropology after researching the fishing community of coastal Odisha. On this occasion, Dr. Kishore Chandra Jena, Professor of Commerce, Narayan Birbar Samanta Higher Secondary School, other teacher educators of Janata School, member of the Trust and nephew of Dr. Panda, former teacher Nimai Charan Chaudhary, lawyer Ranjan Panda, Prakash Panda, employees of both the institutes, members of the trust and other dignitaries were present and paid tributes to Dr. Panda.
Dr. Panda devoted his life to social service to establish and guide many educational institutions in and around his village by sacrificing his career as a lecturer in Utkal University. He worked with displaced farmers in the industrial area of Paradip and was associated with various organisations. As an eminent writer, he edited more than 10 magazines, wrote articles in several magazines and newspapers, and authored two books. His final book “History of Paradip” depicting the social life journey of the coastal areas around the port city was published posthumously in 2019 by the Trust.