Scholarships awarded on eminent educationist Dr. Satyanand Panda’s 8th death anniversary

Paradip: On the occasion of the 8th death anniversary of late Dr. Satyanand Panda—an eminent educationist and writer—the Dr. Satyanand Panda Memorial Trust awarded scholarships to four outstanding students.

The event was held at Janata Nodal High School, established under the leadership of Dr. Panda at Jhimani village under Kujang block in Jagatsinghpur district.

The recipients include Payal Raut, who topped the matriculation examination at Janata Nodal High School last year, and Kanhu Majhi, the top-performing boy from the same school. Additionally, Sangeeta Samal, who secured the top position in the Commerce stream of the Plus Two examination at Narayan Birabar Samant Higher Secondary School, and Seema Majhi, the Arts stream topper from the same institution, were honored. Narayan Birabar Samant Higher Secondary School was established under Dr. Panda’s patronage.

Currently, Payal is pursuing Class XI at UNPOS Higher Secondary School, Jagatsinghpur, while Kanhu is enrolled in Class XI at SVM Higher Secondary School, Jagatsinghpur. Seema is studying at Adikabi Sarala Das College, Tirtol, and Sangeeta is pursuing her graduation at Sarala Mahavidyalaya, Rahama.

Since its inception, the Trust has awarded scholarships to 35 meritorious students, including this year, from the region,.

The awards were presented by Janaki Ballabh Mohanty, current Headmaster; Sneha Nanda ; Nimai Charan Choudhury; Prakash Panda, Ranjan Panda; and members of the trust. Trophies and cheques were handed over to the students in the presence of dignitaries, school staff, and family members of the trustees and tributes were paid.

With a master degree from Lucknow University in Anthropology, Dr. Panda was one of the early scholars of Odisha to earn a doctorate in the subject based on his research on the fishing community of coastal Odisha.

After giving up his teaching profession in Utkal University in Anthropology Department in the peak of his career, he dedicated his life to social service, establishing and guiding numerous educational institutions in and around his village. He worked extensively with displaced farmers in the industrial belt of Paradip and was associated with several socio-cultural organizations.

As a prolific writer, he edited more than 10 magazines, contributed articles to various publications and newspapers, and authored two books. His final work, History of Paradip, chronicling the social life of the coastal region around the port city, was published posthumously in 2019 by the Trust.