There is no lack of talent in Chhattisgarh, all we need to do is to polish the talent and provide better opportunities for them to shine: CM Bhupesh Baghel

Raipur: Chief minister
Bhupesh Baghel said that there is no lack of talent in the children of
Chhattisgarh, all we need to do is to polish that talent and provide them
better opportunities to shine.

He was addressing the
Students Award Ceremony of Late Rajiv Gandhi Bal Bhavishya Suraksha Prayas
Residential School, organized at his residence office, on the martyrdom day of
the great freedom fighter Amar Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh today.

Chief minister paid
floral tribute to Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh. Scheduled Castes and Tribes
Development Minister Dr Premsai Singh Tekam, Industries Minister Kawasi Lakhma,
Parliamentary Secretary Dwarkadhish Yadav, MLA Devendra Yadav, Tribal Welfare
Department Secretary DD Singh, and Commissioner Shammi Abidi were also present
at the programme.

In the year-2021, 27
students of Prayas School have successfully made it to IIT, 35 have got
admission in NIT and equivalent educational institutions, 5 in CS Foundation,
two in CLAT, 61 in engineering college. Chief minister awarded cheques of Rs
50,000 each to 10 students, who have got admission in IIT, NIT and equivalent
institutions.  This amount has been
provided to the students for laptop. On this occasion, he released the progress
report of late Rajiv Gandhi Bal Bhavishya Suraksha Prayas Residential School
for the year 2021-22.

Chief minister said in
his address that Prayas Residential School was started in year 2010 with 200
seats, with the objective to provide good opportunities to the students of
Naxal affected and scheduled areas of the state. Today 9 Prayas residential
schools are operating in the state, wherein the number of seats has been increased
to 4000, and the students are getting the opportunity to study in
national-level institutions. So far 97 students from Prayas residential schools
have got admission in IITs and equivalent institutes, 261 in NITs and IIIT
equivalent institutes, 29 in CA, CS, CMA, 833 in engineering colleges, 39 in
Medical College and 3 students have successfully cracked CLAT. It is a matter
of great pride that the students of Prayas Residential School are studying in
prestigious institutions such as like IIT Kanpur, Kharagpur, BHU, Bhubaneswar,
ISM Dhanbad, Mandi, Patna, IIST Thiruvananthapuram etc and glorifying the name
of Chhattisgarh, he said.

Recalling the
contribution of Veer Narayan Singh, chief minister said that Veer Narayan Singh
was a true gem of Chhattisgarh Mahtari. Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh was the
zamindar of Sonakhan, who deeply cared about the well-being of poor and needy.
In the year 1854-55, there was a famine, he borrowed grain from the Malguzar of
Kasdol and distributed it among the subjects. He told Malguzar that the grain
would be returned at the time of next year’s harvest. But he became the target
of British Government’s oppression. He had encounters with the British at
Sonakhan, Saraipali and Basna and made the British to withdraw. But later on,
he was arrested and hanged at Jaistambh Chowk in Raipur.

On the occasion,
Scheduled Caste and Tribe Welfare Minister Dr Premsai Singh Tekam also
addressed the programme and congratulated the students for their achievements
at national level.

Secretary, Scheduled
Castes and Tribes Welfare Department DD Singh informed that these schools were
established in the year 2010 for the all round development of talented children
studying in Naxal affected districts. Commissioner Shammi Abidi informed that
children of families affected by Naxal violence are given direct admission in
this school. More and more students from these schools are successfully cracking
the competitive examinations.