Stage set for scouts and guides jamboree

Countdown has begun for the 17th National Jamboree of Scouts and Guides to be held here from December 29 to January 3 and preparations are afoot to host the event.

To be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, the theme of the jamboree is “Together for Better Tomorrow’’ and nearly 25,000 cadets from across the country will participate in it.

A mini-township will host the participants at Adakanahalli Industrial Area off the Mysuru-Nanjangud highway and camps by way of nearly 2,500 tents, facilities for drinking water, over 1,500 toilets, and kitchens to cater to the participants have taken shape. District in-charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa visited the premises to take stock of the preparation.

A temporary gallery to enable the participants to witness the daily cultural proceedings has also come up at the spot as also facilities to handle health issues. About 300 acres of industrial land has been temporarily converted into the mini-township to facilitate the authorities to organise the event.

The jamboree is being held for the third time in the State since its inception in 1953-54 and for the first time in Mysuru. It is an opportunity and a platform for cadets to expand their horizon and soak in the cultural diversity of the country, besides taking part in intellectually stimulating activities and adventure sports. A few members of the scouts and guide teams were already seen practicing them. Apart from adventure sports and cultural programmes to be held on a daily basis, there will be awareness and exposure to rural activities.

The 17th jamboree bulletin issued said for the first time, six yogasanas will be performed, including suryanamaskara, kapalbhati, vajrasana, and Singhasana.

While the Boys Scouts Movement was started in 1907 by Lord Baden Powel in England and Scouting began in India in 1909, it took roots in Karnataka through the Boys Scout of Mysore in 1917 with the patronage of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar with the then Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimha Raja Wadiyar as the Chief Scout and Prince Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar as the Chief Cub. Hence, this year also marks the centenary of the cub activity to mark which about 500 Cubs and Bulbuls will participate in the jamboree.