National Youth fest to start from Jan 12 in Pune

Mumbai, Jan 10: The 12th National Youth festival will commence in Pune from Friday.

The four-day festival will be inaugurated by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The annual fest is held on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, which is observed as 'National Youth Day'.

Talking to reporters here yesterday, Sports and Youth Welfaredirector Laxmikant Deshmukh said the festival is being organised inIndia since 1995. This year's theme is ''Youth for Peace, Progress andProsperity'' and the logo of the festival is a dancing pair on thebackdrop of Shanirwada, while the mascot is a rabbit wearing 'Puneripagdi' and blowing a 'tutari'.

He said over 3500 participants from all over the country,including neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Pakistan, willparticipate in the fest.

Mr Deshmukh said apart from the young artisans, the volunteers of National Sample Survey (NSS) will participate in the event.

Pesident Dr A P J Abdul Kalam will be present for the concluding ceremony.

Various cultural programmes and competitions will be organisedduring the festival. In all, Rs two crore would be spent on thefestival, he added.

UNI