Achievements of welfare schemes initiated by the State Government especially the mighty Education City established at Dantewada, Astha Gurukul and livelihood College run to provide skill to youth of this insurgency-hit area immensely impressed a group of National Human Rights Commission.
A team of NHRC comprising its members Justice BC Patel, Satyavrat Paul, Special Reporter S Jalja, Joint director (law) of the Commission and nodal officer AK Parashar and SSP PD Prasad who were on a two-day visit to Dantewada; visited Astha Gurukul run at Education City located here at Jawanga.
Former collector and presently Public Relations department director OP Choudhary told the members that orphans hit by insurgency are lodged here free of cost and are being given quality education as well.
In the current batch, 130 students including 38 girls are lodged here whereas from the last batch five students were selected for Army school Ambikapur, 24 for Eklavya Vidyalaya Karpawand, 25 girls were selected for Eklavya Kanya Shiksha Prishar Katekalyan, five girls for Girls Education Centre Parchanpal.
In the Astha Gurukul students of villages Telam, lakharas, Burgum, Potali, Tikanpal, gatam, Katekalyan, Badegudra, Badetumnar, Ronje, Barsur, Kasoli, Bangapal, Jawanga, Chintalanka, Pina Bacheli and Bade Kameli are studying at present.
later, the team visited Kasturba Gandhi Girls School located at Jawanga where 100 girls of Geedam, worst Maoist insurgency hit area, are getting education. The team members also talked with the school inmates and instructed the authorities to provide internet facility to them.
The team also visited district library where they were informed that every day 150 children from internal parts of the district are brought here to visit district headquarters under ‘Tamanna Project’ and that the number of children benefitted under the scheme so far stand at 35,000.
The NHRC team then visited livelihood College run by district administration to provide skill based training to youth to make them employable or establish their own venture.
Training in nearly 25 trades are being provided at the centre where even a fifth class fail youth hones his skills along with a postgraduate. More than 3,189 youth have been registered out of which 2,350 are already given training by the college. While 963 youth opened their own enterprises, 1298 were provided jobs. At present 876 youth are getting training at the college. A number of youth after getting training from here have got placements in many reputed companies.
The NHRC team later held meeting with collector, police superintendents and other officials of Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma districts in the Kasturba Meeting hall located at collectorate and also talked with members of Naxal violence hit families.