The government of Jharkand is trying to channelize youth energy in the Naxal-affected districts towards sports so that they do not get brainwashed into unlawful activities. For this purpose, it has started a special sports scheme named SAHAY (Sports Action towards Harnessing Aspiration of Youth). The idea is to gently push the youth towards creative change to keep them away from Naxal camps. On 15 December, Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the ‘SAHAY’ scheme with the aim of promoting sports talents among the youth.

Indian Masterminds interacted with Deputy Commissioner of Khunti district, Mr. Shashi Ranjan, and learned how they are working on this scheme and how the youth will benefit from it.

CHANNELISING YOUTH ENERGY TOWARDS SPORTS

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In the first phase, 72,000 youths, aged 14 to 19, from five Naxal-affected districts – Chaibasa, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega- will get an opportunity to showcase their skills in the field of sports. In the competitions organized under the scheme, winners and runners-up at the district and state level will be given incentives ranging from 2-10 thousand rupees.

The government plans to organize several sports tournaments in collaboration with national and state level sports federations. Talented youngsters will be picked from the village, block and district levels and the promising ones will be coached to play at national level and international level. The department of sports will take all responsibilities for their training.

Talking to Indian Masterminds, DC Khunti, IAS Shashi Ranjan said, “There is already a lot of enthusiasm about sports in Khunti district. There is a lot of support and cooperation coming from all the blocks and wards, especially in rural the areas. Youths are coming forward in large numbers to join. They see this as an opportunity to learn and grow. I think that there will be maximum participation from our district in the coming days. People in Khunti had been demanding such a sports initiative for a long time.”

BRIDGING GAP BETWEEN PUBLIC AND ADMINISTRATION

The main objective of the SAHAY Scheme is to bridge the gap between the people and the administration through sports, while preparing budding sports persons for state and national level tournaments.

Mr. Ranjan says that the scheme will help build social harmony. “This scheme will also work towards confidence building in rural areas as the public-administration interaction will increase. We have told the BDOs and COs of all the blocks to actively participate in this scheme. At the same time, people are also actively involved. This will help bridge the gap between the administration and the public.”

REPLACE FEAR WITH ENTHUSIASM

To bring forward and promote the young talents of Jharkhand, officers have been appointed exclusively for sports in most districts. They have been asked to work comprehensively to connect the youth below 19 years of age with the Jharkhand SAHAY Yojana. Potential sports talents from panchayat level will be identified and taken to block level and district level, where they will be groomed for national and international sporting events.

The state government hopes to create positive impressions in the mind of the people of the Naxal-affected districts through sports. While launching SAHAY, Chief Minister Hemant Soren had remarked that this scheme will replace fear or sympathy (for the Naxals) in the people with enthusiasm for sports.