JAGATSINGHPUR: Even as the newly appointed Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General Chandi Prasad Mohanty, who hails from Jayabada in Jagatsinghpur, has appealed the youth to join army and serve the nation, a dairy farmer of the very district is on a mission to not only motivate but also train the youngsters of the area for recruitment in the armed forces.
Every morning, the dry Devi river bed at Arakhuda turns into a training ground for a group of 30 youths under the watchful eyes of Silu Nayak, who like Lt Gen Mohanty wants to see more number of youths from his district in the army, navy and air force.
For the last five years, Nayak has been training youths interested in joining the army totally free of cost. Not only does he impart physical fitness training but also covers every other aspect essential to qualify the written exams and interviews. A resident of Arakhuda under Naugaon tehsil, the 28-year-old has set up an institute in the name of ‘Mahaguru Battalion’ to prepare the youths from Balikuda, Naugaon and other nearby villages for the armed forces.
Popularly known as Nayak Sir, he has so far trained 300 youths, 70 of who have been recruited in the armed forces. Of them, 18 have joined the Indian Army, three Indian Air Forces and six in Navy, and four each in CRPF and BSF. The rest have been employed in various private security agencies. Nayak himself was an aspirant for Indian Army after completing his graduation.
In 2016, he appeared for the written examination and interview to Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF) under Odisha Police. However, he backed out during the physical evaluation as he felt he could not pass the extremely tough tests. He also saw many other aspirants fail the physical tests. But, as he returned he had found another purpose in life - that of training the youth, both physically and mentally, for the armed as well as security forces.
“I saw so many persons being disqualified at the physical examination stage. I also saw a great career opportunity for the youth in the army. I decided to encourage the large number of unemployed youth, who were whiling away their time in the villages, to join the armed forces by providing them necessary training. And so, the Mahaguru Battalion took birth,” Nayak said.
His students Bikash Mohanty of Rohia village and Pravash Nayak of Arakhuda said they are obliged to Nayak for giving their life a direction. “I was wasting my time after doing my Plus II. I underwent training under Nayak Sir for two years and got recruitment in Indian Army Signal Regiment last year,” said Pravash. Bikash, similarly, said he would have got into his family profession of farming had Nayak not inspired him to join the forces. He joined the Indian Navy in 2018.