Chhattisgarh: Tribal children sweating it out at 'Archery Centre' to make India proud

Children and teenagers from the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) 'Pahadi Korwa' in Chhattisgarh's tribal-dominated Jashpur district are working hard to improve their archery capabilities in preparation for the Olympics. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has opened an Archery Centre in the Jashpur district to encourage sports, according to a statement from the state administration.

The statement stated that, “A special attraction of this centre is that children from PVTG are training here. People of this community are particularly residing in forest areas and bows-arrows are a special part of their lives due to which passion towards this traditional weapon could be seen among children."

Around 10 children practise for several hours at the 'Archery Centre' in Jashpur to hone their abilities so that they can represent India in the Olympics and bring accolades to their district, state and country, according to the statement. According to Jashpur Collector Ravi Mittal, the children are staying at the institute and receiving training from an experienced coach.

"Players from this centre are registering their participation at separate events. Recently, they bagged a gold medal in a national tourney held in Hyderabad. Moreover, the Olympic coach from the biggest archery centre Dharmendra Tiwari and Olympic athlete Deepika Kumari also visited the centre here, praised the players and gave tips to them," he said.

Last year, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel launched a multi-sport event at Raipur's Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium, vowing to revive the age-old practice of traditional games such as 'langdi,' 'bhaura,' 'bati' (kancha), and 'pitthul'.

While inaugurating the event, CM Baghel stated, “These activities are not only fun, but they are also healthy for physical and mental health. In rural communities, children, the elderly, and youth will all participate in these sports for enjoyment and to stay active.''

Centre’s efforts towards tribal groups

The Central Government is also taking extensive initiatives for the upliftment of tribal population in the country. The tribal affairs ministry received an allocation of Rs 7,281 crore for the current fiscal year in the revised estimate.

The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission is being established to improve the socioeconomic circumstances of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). This would provide basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, increased access to education, health, and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and long-term livelihood opportunities to PVTG families and communities.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman committed Rs 15,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission in her Budget speech, which will be released over the next three years. The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission was created as part of "Reaching The Last Mile," one of the Budget's seven "Saptarishi priorities."

Over the following three years, the finance minister also announced that the government will hire 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools. The Eklavya Schools, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, serve around 3,50,000 tribal students in remote places across the country. 

The budget for Eklavya Schools has also been boosted significantly, from Rs 2,000 crore in 2022-23 to 5,943 crore in 2023-24.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda also praised the allocation, dubbing it as the "Amrit Kaal Budget." 

(With inputs from ANI)