SRINAGAR: As part of the Yuva Sangam programme launched under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) initiative, 45 students from various institutions across 22 districts in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh returned to Kashmir back after exploring many places in Maharashtra.
Dr. Ranjeet Kumar Rout, Nodal officer for EBSB 2024 said that 45 students along with five volunteers and staff members returned back to Valley after a weeklong exposure tour to Maharashtra as part of Phase-IV of Yuva Sangam 2024.
The Yuva Sangam delegation had left the NIT Srinagar on 4th May and reached Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur (VNIT Nagpur), Maharashtra on 5th May. After 7 days, they returned back to Kashmir on 11th May 2023.
During the tour, the delegation visited Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur, where Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism with thousands of followers in 1956, the NTPC thermal power plant in Mauda Tehsil, Gorewada International Zoo, Shri Ram Temple in Ramtek, Baba Tajuddin Dargah, and Lighthouse Waterpark.
The students also had the opportunity to meet Prof. Pramod M. Padole, Director VNIT Nagpur, former Chairman of ISRO and other dignitaries during the tour.
As per official figures, NIT Srinagar received 1892 applications from the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh during this phase. Among them, 45 students were selected for the EBSB 2024 program.
Dr. Ranjeet Kumar Rout, Dr. Mohd Mohsin Khan, Dr. Nitika Kundan were Nodal officers while Dr. Janani L, Dr. Pankaj Kumar and Dr. Mohd Rafiq Teli was the faculty coordinator, Social Media Officer, and PR Officer respectively for the exposure tour.
From the VNIT side, Dr- Vijay Kumar RP, Dr – GN Nimbarte were the Coordinators and Dr Jaipal, Dr Bibhuti Ranjan Mishra, Dr. Rahul Biswas, Dr. Manjusha CB were the committee members for the tour.
In the Yuva Sangam phase IV, the participants from the paired institutes will be exchanged under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) campaign of the Ministry of Education.
Under this exchange programme, participants were given opportunity for multi-dimensional exposure under five broad areas 5 Ps i.e. Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Prodyogik (Technology), and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect).