Governor and First Lady attend 10th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme at Raj Bhavan

JAMMU, DECEMBER 1: Governor N.N. Vohra and First Lady Mrs. Usha Vohra attended the 10^th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Jammu & Kashmir, at the Raj Bhavan here today.

Highlighting the importance of Tribal Youth Exchange Programmes, Governor observed that they are extremely valuable for promoting understandings among people belonging to different areas of our vast country who speak different languages, follow different religions and are from diverse cultural backgrounds. He observed that such exchanges enable the youth from tribal communities to visit other States and get acquainted with people of different background.

Governor observed that awareness amongst the tribal youth from various parts of India about the diversity which obtains in our country would contribute towards bringing all our people close to each other. He advised that such programmes need to be organized on a much larger scale, throughout the year.

 Governor, who is Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, invited the participating youth to visit the Holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and directed the concerned officials to make all arrangements for their visit and be treated as guests of the Board.

Governor complimented the role of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan in organizing the Exchange Programme and hoped that sustained efforts in this shall continue to be made to significantly enlarge this programme.

Governor and First Lady lauded the exuberance of the participants from the States of Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Jharkhand who presented scintillating cultural programme showcasing the rich cultural diversity of their States. They presented cash prizes to the winners of the Declamation Contest and cultural programmes which had been organized by the NYKS as part of this Exchange Programme. Observing that the cash prizes for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd teams who won in the cultural competition were only Rs. 5000, Rs. 3000 and Rs. 2000, respectively, the Governor announced that these prizes shall be Rs. 20,000, Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000, respectively.

The Welcome Address was presented by Shri Sukhdev Singh, State Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangthan and a Vote of Thanks was given by Shri S.S. Kashyap, Deputy Director Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, J&K.