PATNA: It was an emotional experience for the alumni of 102-year-old Patna University (PU) as they turned up at Patna Science College gymnasium hall here on Sunday on the occasion of the second annual meet of PU Alumni Association.None of them, whether 85 or 25, lost the zest for meeting old friends and rediscovering even older ones. “Arre, aap bhi?” was a common refrain in every corner of the hall. The bonhomie was truly infectious and all of them felt nostalgic, remembering their good old days spent in their alma mater. The alumni observed a two-minute silence in the memory of Pulwama martyrs. DG-rank officer Alok Raj entertained the alumni with two melodies with patriotic fervour.As the theme of this year alumni meet was ‘The role of alumni in development of PU’, they came out openly in extending their full support and help in ensuring all-round development of their alma mater. They demanded that this seventh oldest university of the Indian subcontinent must be converted into a central university to fulfil the long-cherished desire of the enlightened people of the state.Speaking as the chief guest at the function, PU vice-chancellor Rash Bihari Prasad Singh called upon the alumni to make collective efforts in raising its academic standard and restoring its past glory. “This can happen only if we all develop an emotional attachment with our alma mater,” the VC said.Former PU VC and association’s president L N Ram pointed out that PU is plagued with several constraints, including lack of homogenous campus, acute scarcity of teachers and a sound academic environment. But all these shortcomings can be removed if we all alumni make a concerted effort for changing the scenario. “The alma mater has given us all we possess today. Now it is the time to repay our debt by working wholeheartedly for its all-round improvement,” Ram said.Nalanda Open University pro-VC and association’s general secretary Kriteshwar Prasad announced the association’s help in establishing a central science instrumentation laboratory and an innovation and training centre on the PU campus. He appealed to the alumni to contribute liberally for these noble initiatives. He also appealed to them to donate funds for creating endowments in the name of their family members for the award of gold medals to the toppers of different examinations. He also presented the memorandum of association (society) for the approval of the general body.Prominent among those who attended the meet included Patna College’s former principal Nawal Kishore Chaudhary, PU psychology department former head Laxmi Srivastava, former NOU VC Usha Singh, PU geography department former head Rameshwar Gauntia, PU Maithili department former head Indra Kant Jha, PU zoology department former head S D Singh, Rai Sivaji Nath and Uma Shankar Prasad, senior advocates of the Patna high court.PU central library chief Rabindra Kumar proposed the vote of thanks.

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