KENDRAPARA: In a bid to keep tribal youths away from hunting in forests, several outfits have joined hands with the district sports office to train them in archery.The district unit of People for Animals (PFA), Gahirmatha Marine Turtle and Mangrove Conservation Society (GMTMCS) , Dhartri Adivasi Club in collaboration with district sports office are training tribal and other local youths of villages near Bhitarkanika National Park in Mahakalapada block of Kendrapara district on the sport.
Recently, several youths participated in a three-day long archery competition at seaside Kharinashi village.
“Many local youths were not aware about archery and this prompted PFA and GMTMCS to organise archery competitions for them with the help of local panchayats. We have chosen archery as a means of diverting the tribals’ attention from hunting in the forest,” said district sports officer Lokanath Panigrahi. “We will select some youths to undergo proper archery training at the sports hostel in Bhubaneswar,” he said. The initiative is a humble beginning for youths of Baulakani, Kharinashi, Kansarabadadandua, Lunimathia, Suniti, Jamboo and Kandarapatia villages.
“They hone their skills with traditional bamboo bows and arrows and we are helping them to switch to modern gear for participating in national level archery competitions,” said Panigrahi.Local tribals use bows and arrows for killing animals in the mangrove forest nearby. In the recent past, forest officials have nabbed several of them for poaching. Given training, these lads can do wonders in games like archery, said forest range officer of Mahakalapada Rojalini Das.