As a testimony to JAU’s initiatives on all-round development, two students from CoA, JAU, Junagadh, viz., Ms. Parmar Tamnna (Reg. ID: 3010123095), third semester B. Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture, and Ms. Rakholiya Tanvi Dharmendrabhai (Reg. No. 1010123011), third semester Ph. D. Agriculture, were selected on a competitive basis to participate in the special camp of Yuga Sangam Phase 5 program, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, GoI, under the aegis of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB). The camp was hosted at IIIT-Kottayam, Kerala, from December 1-5, 2024, and was coordinated by IIT-Gandhinagar.

    Only 50 students were selected from hundreds of applicants from public and private higher educational institutions all over Gujarat. The event was fully sponsored by the Government of India, including travel, accommodation, and exposure visits. With Gujarat students visiting Kerala and students from Kerala visiting Gujarat, the event was nothing short of a melting pot of cultural exchange and a tribute to the traditional spirit, nurtured values, and rich legacy upheld by both states. Both students actively participated in several activities fostering national unity through cultural exchange in several broad areas, such as Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect), and Prodyogiki (Technology). Keeping in tune with the themes of the special camp, the students visited government- and private-run agro-parks in Ernakulam and learned about different agro-processing and value-addition facilities. Besides, the students also visited the rubber plantations, spice gardens, coconut orchards, and local markets in and around Kottayam and Ernakulam and interacted with farmers and traders.

    As both Ms. Tamnna and Ms. Tanvi also happen to be avid dancers, representing our college at various cultural events and contests, they showcased the vibrant culture of Saurashtra to the organizers and the participating students from Kerala, besides learning and imbibing the values of unity in diversity. The students were felicitated with a certificate of participation and a medal by the Nodal Officers of Yuva Sangam at IIIT-Kottayam. Dr. B. Swaminathan, Asstt. Prof. (Economics) coordinated the participation of the students under the able guidance of Dr. K. D. Kumawat, Principal & Dean, and Dr. R. M. Solanki, Director of Students’ Welfare.

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