Bhubaneswar: Patriotic fervour of Vande Mataram resonated across Odisha on Monday as all educational institutions in the state joined in a mass rendition of the national song to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the observance of National Youth Day.
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 government and private institutions across the state, an official statement said.
The statewide programme was jointly organised by the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department, the Higher Education Department, the School and Mass Education Department, and the Sports and Youth Services Department of the Government of Odisha. Lakhs of students, teachers and staff members came together to participate in the mass singing, creating a powerful atmosphere of patriotism and unity.
Expressing happiness over the successful conduct of the programme, Higher Education, Sports and Youth Services, and Odia Language, Literature and Culture Minister Shri Suryabanshi Suraj described the event as a “historic moment.” He said the collective rendition of the national song by the youth reflects the state’s deep sense of dedication and commitment to the nation.
The Minister also congratulated all participating institutions, students, teachers and staff members for making the Vande Mataram mass singing programme a grand success.
It may be noted that a state-wide “Vande Mataram Training Programme” was organised earlier to facilitate the collective singing in educational institutions. For this purpose, all districts of the state were divided into five zones — Jeypore Zone (Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nuapada), Brahmapur Zone (Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh and Nayagarh), Balasore Zone (Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Keonjhar and Jajpur), Sambalpur Zone (Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Bargarh, Balangir and Subarnapur) and Bhubaneswar Zone (Khordha, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Dhenkanal and Angul).
Under this initiative, zonal-level Vande Mataram training programmes were conducted. In addition, training programmes were also organised at the district, municipal and block levels to ensure effective participation across the state.