VISAKHAPATNAM : City-based Visakha Hriday Shan, a voluntary organisation, conducted a village tour for students of various schools of Visakhapatnam to Makavarapalem village near Narsipatnam Sunday. A total of 39 students of Class VIII and IX accompanied by their teachers from 13 schools in Visakhapatnam participated in the tour programme and were joined by 100 schoolchildren from Makavarapalem.
On the occasion, Panchayat Raj minister Chintakayala Ayyannapatrudu appreciated the VHS for organising the event. He lauded the initiative saying that such visits would help urban schoolchildren interact with their peers from rural areas. Ayyannapatrudu said that visits like these would help children from urban areas understand the situation and problems faced by the rural masses. He urged the urban students to learn the culture and practices of rural masses.
VHS president M Bhaskara Rao informed the gathering of the three-day Global Youth Meet from November 29 in Vizag.
The students spoke about healthy lifestyle and ill-effects of use of tobacco and alcohol. They urged schoolchildren from Makavarapalem to educate their parents and be the agents of social change in their village. They also discussed environment and sanitation, diet and physical activity.