Berhampur: A BDS student from Berhampur has allegedly been denied an education loan by a nationalised bank despite repeated appeals by her family, prompting BJP MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy to seek chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s intervention.Banita Panda, a resident of Panigrahipentha, is pursuing BDS at a private dental college in Bhubaneswar. Her family had applied for a Rs 20 lakh loan under the Centre’s PM Vidya Lakshmi scheme, which aims to ease access to higher education financing.Banita’s mother, an outsourced employee at a blood bank, alleged that the bank refused the loan application, citing absence of adequate collateral. Her husband is an advocate. “I have been running from pillar to post to secure a study loan for my daughter. Despite explaining our financial situation, the bank declined the request,” she said, requesting anonymity.The family has brought the matter to the notice of Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy and Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati. Banita’s mother said Ganjam collector Keerthi Vasan V provided Rs 30,000 in assistance after learning about the family’s financial difficulties.Expressing concern over alleged denial of the loan, Panigrahy on Thursday raised the issue on social media and wrote to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, seeking his intervention.The bank manager declined to comment on the specific case, saying higher authorities would respond. “We have already apprised the applicant about the scheme,” he said, preferring anonymity.Panigrahy also highlighted the case of Sabita Mallick, an MBBS aspirant from Rayagada block in Gajapati district, who secured 132nd rank in the ST category in Neet-UG. Referring to both cases, he said, “Two meritorious girls are facing a crisis.”The MP said he had written to both the chief minister and the prime minister, urging that applications under the PM Vidya Lakshmi scheme be processed within seven days. He also expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as Ganjam district’s poor education loan performance, claiming the achievement rate stood at only 8%.
