As many as 200 tribal youth, including 73 girls, from Naxal-affected districts of Bijapur, Sukma, Bastar and Dantewada in Chhattisgharh on Saturday commenced a seven-day tour of Puducherry as part of tribal exchange programme of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS).
The 12th such initiative of NYKS was aimed at providing the youth a platform to understand the diversity of the country in terms of culture, language, food and lifestyle.
Announcing the tour programme, Sub Collector (Revenue) Shashvat Saurabh told reporters that the programme was to expose the tribal youth to the technological and industrial advancement that the country had undergone and to sensitise them on various aspects of life. M. N. Nataraj, director, NYKS for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said the participants for the tour were selected by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Since, the tribal exchange programme was launched in 2006, around 38,000 tribal youths from the Naxal-affected districts in the country were taken to different parts of the country to sensitise them.
The youths showed behavioural changes for better after the tour programmes, he said, adding majority of the participants were school drop-outs. The team, during their travel and stay at the Youth hostel here, would be given security cover by police officers, including 20 CRPF personnel.
During their stay here, the team would be involved in various activities, including seminars, cultural programmes and industrial tour. Experts would deliver lecture on subjects such as “Indian democracy” and “Life and Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi”. They will also participate in a contest on the subject “Terrorism versus Development,” he said.
They would be also visiting Ponlait, an industrial unit at Mettupalayam, Auroville, Ashram, Beach and JIPMER. Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi will inaugurate the tour programme on Monday.
