Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

STRESS ON THE COLLECTIVE: Governor Rameswar Thakur with Radhakant Nayak, founder of NISWASS, at its foundation day celebration in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

BHUBANESWAR: Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Saturday called upon academicians to prepare a force of manpower who could work towards building up a society free from hunger, poverty and gender-bias.

Addressing the foundation day celebration of city-based National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWASS), Mr Thakur emphasised the need for making people aware of their rights and empowering them to participate actively in the decision- making process right at the panchayat level.

He said NGOs, social scientists and educationists were increasingly becoming conscious of the urgent need to tackle serious problems like illiteracy, population growth, environment pollution and health.

Renowned poet Sitakanta Mohapatra said those who were at helm of affairs should incorporate feedback from masses when they designed any development programme.

On the occasion, Mr. Thakur presented citations to Mrinal Chtterjee, presently working as Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, for his contributions in taking forward rural journalism and Subal Kumar Nayak of Damien Institute for his efforts to eradicate leprosy.

Among others founder of NISWASS R. K. Nayak, Vice Chancellor of Utkal University L. N. Mishra and former director of Institute of Physics Trilochan Pradhan spoke on the occasion.

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