Agencies

Srinagar, December 6:

Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat Wednesday, while interacting with 18 girl students from various schools in Jammu and Kashmir region, at the South Block in New Delhi told them to work hard and compete for Army’s ‘Super 30’ coaching programme and build their career through good education, PTI reported.

“There is no other place like Kashmir when it comes to scenic beauty and a sublime environment. But, terrorism has vitiated the atmosphere,” he said, according to the report.

“Unlike Kashmir, you do not see bunkers in Delhi or gun-toting security personnel everywhere. People roam here at night in peace. The Kashmir Valley also had peace and people in Srinagar even used to go for strolling in parks at night or for a movie, but it’s not there anymore,” he said.

He also urged them to ‘work hard and contribute actively in the nation-building process’, the report stated, adding that he called on them to join the Indian Armed Forces and ‘serve the cause of the Nation’, according to the report.

Rawat restated that “infiltrators come from Pakistan to our side and create trouble”.

“So, if you also want progress and development in the Valley, take this message from here, and tell the people there that guns are not good,” he said, as quoted in the report.

Rawat asked the students as to what they wanted to become in life. Some replied saying they aspired to become civil servants or police officers or doctors, while only a single student said she wanted to be a teacher, the report stated.

“Only way to do well in life is to work hard. Some people may be very sharp, but still (there is) no substitute for hard work. I want students like you to become engineers and doctors and teachers and then go back to your places and villages and serve the people there,” he said, as per the report.

Rawat told them that the Indian Army runs “Kashmir Super-30” — a free, special coaching programme for students to prepare them for entrance examinations for admission to IITs and NITs.

“We are working with NGOs to have a similar programme for medical examination aspirants. So, work hard, compete for ‘Super 30’ for an engineering career, and for NEET exam too, once we have it in place,” he said.

The Indian Army had earlier this year signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a state-run firm and the National Integrity Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO) for medical aspirants, under which selected students would be provided with free residential coaching for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The students, ranging from class 7-11 arrived on Monday and have visited the Red Fort, Rajghat and Connaught Place market in Delhi, and will see the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah and take a Metro ride before heading to Chandigarh, an official accompanying them said, as per the PTI report.