BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to provide exposure to youths of Naxal-hit Malkangiri, the Border Security Force (BSF) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan have planned a visit of around 320 of them from the remote areas of the district to 15 different cities in the country.
The participants of the tour will be divided into 15 batches and they will visit different metros and top-tier cities like New Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and others between September and January as part of a tribal youth exchange programme. They will also be taken to various government institutions, PSUs and other places of prominence during their visit in a bid to keep them updated about advancements in other parts of the country.
“During the visit, the youths will interact with sportspersons and other dignitaries. This will help them broaden their outlook,” said a BSF officer. Apart from organising the exposure trip, the BSF had recently held meetings in four areas of Malkangiri district to facilitate admissions of youths in colleges and to enrol them in various skill development programmes.
The principal of Government Polytechnic in Malkangiri, officials of Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Bhubaneswar and the district employment officer had held the meetings in Badapada, Badapadar, Salimi and Niliguda. The meetings received an overwhelming response and around 260 youths in Niliguda registered for either receiving education or skill development training.
The three other places recorded registration of over 100 youths each, said sources. In another development, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal on Thursday unveiled Odisha BSF’s maiden book ‘Rakshak’ at Raj Bhavan here. The first edition of the magazine of Frontier Headquarters (Special Operations) BSF Odisha has articles, anecdotes and poems penned by seema praharis.
The magazine features articles on BSF’s presence in Odisha since October, 2010 and its robust deployment of eight battalions consisting of around 10,000 personnel. It also has articles related to BSF’s efforts in creating employment opportunities and carrying out developmental activities in Naxal-affected districts with the help of the state government.