Vande Mataram echoes across campuses on National Youth Day

Bhubaneswar: Vande Mataram resonated across Odisha as students from all educational institutions in the state joined a mass rendition of the national song to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the observance of National Youth Day on Monday.More than 16,000 educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, participated in the programme, with over 21 lakh students lending their voices in unison to pay tribute to the nation. The collective singing was held simultaneously at 11 am in both govt and private institutions across the state. Later in the evening, CM Mohan Charan Majhi highlighted Swamiji’s values as the basis of nation-building and character development during a National Youth Day event at Utkal University. He added that the govt is taking up various youth service programmes along with education to empower the youth. Many schemes were implemented for training, skill development, excellence in sports and good performance in the cultural field. Today, Odisha is known as the ‘Sports Capital’ of the country, he said.Higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said the youth of Odisha are showing their prowess in various fields today, and the Fit India Mission launched by the Centre became a nationwide movement and is inspiring every Indian to lead a healthy and successful lifestyle. He also described the collective rendition of Vande Mataram as ‘historic’, and said it reflects the state’s deep sense of dedication and commitment to the nation.The event was organised by the culture, school and mass education, higher education, and sports departments.