94-member Meghalaya contingent to participate
From Eric Calvin Ranee
tional Youth Festival, 2014, got off to a grand opening ceremony at the campus of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, on Sunday.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport, Independent Charge Jitendra Singh inaugurated the festival as the chief guest in the presence of Punjab PWD Minister Sharanjeet Singh and others dignitaries.
The Festival was inaugurated with a colourful procession of different contingents from 25 States and Union Territories in their traditional attires along with light folk dance and music.
94 youths from Meghalaya are participating in different events which include both competitive and non competitive events.
The participation of the Meghalaya team in the Festival was sponsored by the Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs, and the team was escorted by contingent leaders Bobby Wahlang (State Liaison Officer) accompanied by the National Youth Awardee Kitboklang Nongphlang.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Jitendra Singh warmly welcomed all the young delegates representing different States and Union Territories and also greeted them on the occasion of National Youth Day.
“There is no place for mediocrity in today’s world and now it is opportune time for the youths of the country to rise to their fullest potential and propel India among the great nations of the world. As the theme of the Festival is ‘Drug Free World’ so this is high time that the nation needs to show concern towards the menace of drug abuse and effective policy planning backed by need based and impact driven implementation strategy,” Singh advocated.
To the delight of the participants, Singh informed that the Union Cabinet has already approved the National Youth Policy 2014 which has the vision to empower the youths through priority areas such as education, employment, skill development, sports, health, community engagement and participation of youth in policy formulation and governance.
Later, Singh conferred the National Youth Awards to 32 recipients who have excelled in exemplary social and community development work and also to three outstanding youth clubs affiliated with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan for their outstanding contribution in the field of social work and youth development.