More than 600 students from other States have visited Chennai so far this year as part of inter-State youth exchange programmes.
A group of 90 such students, a chunk of them from the northeast, on Tuesday got an opportunity to interact with Governor Surjit Singh Barnala at Raj Bhavan.
Beaches in Chennai are the most attractive to the visiting youths, according to the unanimous reply of the group members to a query from Mr. Barnala during the meeting. The Governor urged the students to serve the nation with honesty, hard work and integrity.
Sense of cooperation
The youth exchange programmes are being organised to promote a sense of cooperation and understanding among the youth of the nation, said C.R. Kesavan, vice-president of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development.
The young participants would be able to respect the cultural diversity of the country by understanding the cultural values and traditions of other States, he said. A group of students from south India would visit the northeast next month, said Mr. Kesavan.
Kara Chucha, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, said she had learned much from Tamil hospitality, which she would try to emulate.
“Good-natured people”
“Chennai has beautiful monuments and good-natured people,” said Y. Abraham Konyak of Nagaland.
Nilesh Chouhan, from Madhya Pradesh, said some of the representatives of local bodies on the outskirts of Chennai were doing an exemplary service.
The focus of future programmes would be on sending students in Chennai and other southern cities to the northeast, said A. Radhakrishnan Nair, faculty head, RGNIYD. Already, 200 students from the south have visited other States, he added.
