For the group of 20 tribal youths, native of interior villages in Bokaro such as Hurdag, Jhumra, Saraeyapani Dania, Barwapani, Pachamo, Rahawan, Morha, Gaichandwa, Dakasaram and Lalgrah, visiting Chennai was a dream come true.
They have never ventured into the plain area. Their travel is limited from their village to the market area in Jhumra. And this is for the first time they will see a city like Chennai.
But they are even more excited that all 20 villagers will be travelling for a goodwill trip to Chennai. “We heard it is very hot. This will be a different experience in the sea town. We only read and heard of Chennai and about its famous Marina beach and now will be experiencing it. We are excited,” a youth said.
The 20 students comprising 17 females and 3 males will be travelling to Chennai for a week-long trip and it is being organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Tamilnadu.
The students have been picked up from the interior parts of the Bokaro district, the mandals where there is a considerable sway of the banned CPI (Maoist) and it is being organised as part of community policing, said ASP (operations) Sanjay Kumar.
“This is the 11th such trip that we are conducting and earlier we have sent students to places such as Lucknow. It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,” said Commandant of 26th Battalion Ashok Kumar Yadav.
"The idea is to broaden the horizons of the tribal youth. They are an intelligent lot but are not much aware of the outside world, as they are confined to the hills. This will give them ample opportunity to see life outside their tribal habitats,” he said. The students will share their experiences with the students in Chennai and it will be beneficial for both,” said Yadav.
Both the CRPF and the District Police are extensively working on outreach and community policing and a number of initiatives are being taken up, including construction of roads. Sources say the basic idea is to take development to the interior parts and wean away the tribal youth from joining the Maoists.
Dy Commandant Yadav and other officers namely Sidarth Kumar Gautam ,Sanjay Kumar, Donel Mitai,Vijay Kumar, A K Lal, Amabar Gosh, Manoj Sinha and others who joined the tribal youth to dance to the drum beats of Dhimsa, a tribal dance form, at the command headquarters, before bidding the 20-member team goodbye.