Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: A group of 40 school children consisting of 20 girls and 20 boys hailing from remote and far flung areas of Jammu region called on Home Minister, Rajnath Singh at New Delhi. The students are on a Bharat Darshan tour from January 19 to January 29 organized by the BSF.
The concept of Bharat Darshan tours for the children from Jammu & Kashmir was started as an annual feature in the year 2000. The entire expenditure on the tours is met by BSF. This includes dresses, travel expenses, boarding and lodging etc.
Rajesh Ranjan, Special DG BSF welcomed the Home Minister Rajnath Singh and apprised him of the composition of the group. He informed that Bharat Darshan tour has widened horizons and given the children an opportunity to see the diversities of the nation.
The children then shared their experiences of visits to different historical places and thanked the BSF and the Government of India for organizing tours of this nature.
These children are selected for Bharat Darshan as a part of intensive civic action programme of the force in remote and backward areas of the border.
This tour is conducted to give them insights into the rich historical, cultural and social profile of the country and the progress made in industrial, technological and scientific fields. The tour also aims at inculcating in them a sense of pride for the nation.
As part of the programme, they visited Amber Fort, Albert Hall Museum, Junagarh Fort, Jantar Mantar and City Palace in Jaipur, Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal and Agra Fort in Agra, Qutab Minar, Lotus Temple, Rastrapati House and Metro Ride and witnessed the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi.
After meeting with the HM, all the children will proceed to Amritsar where they will witness the Retreat Ceremony at Attari Border and also visit the historical places of Amritsar. Thereafter children will back to their homes.
Till date 1619 children from J&K have participated in BSF sponsored 58 Bharat Darshan Tours.