PM to award Bhojpur, Saharsa pupils on Oct 2

PATNA: Vikas Prasad, a Class VIII student of Bilauti Middle School in Bhojpur district and Chandrakanta Naina, a Class IX student of Manohar High School, Baijnathpur, in Saharsa district have made the state proud by winning the National Swachch Bharat Award in essay writing competition organized by the Union ministry for drinking water and sanitation under its ‘Swachch Sankalp Se Swachch Siddhi’ programme.
The competitions were held in all schools across the country between August 16 and September 15. The theme of the essay writing competition was ‘What can I do for making India clean’.
While Vikas secured the first position in essay writing competition in junior category, the second and third positions were bagged by S Subbu Laxmi of Puducherry and Priya Soni of Himachal Pradesh, respectively.
Naina, on the other hand, won the essay writing competition in senior category by defeating Ravisha from Goa and Kajal from Himachal Pradesh, who secured second and third positions, respectively. All the winners will be awarded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on October 2.
The participants went through various rounds of competition at school, inter-school, district and national levels. The competitions were held under the guidance of Bihar Education Project Council in the state. “It is a proud moment for the state that two of our students have excelled at such a big platform,” state project director Sanajy Singh said.
Naina said she never expected to win the competition. “The result has come as a pleasant surprise to me. I had not even won a state level contest in the past. In my essay, I had suggested ways for proper implementation for cleanliness drive,” she added. Naina thanked her parents and teachers for winning the prestigious award. Born to general physician Dayanand Prasad Yadav and homemaker Premlata Kumari, Naina wants to become a fashion designer.
Vikas, on the other hand, is waiting for the day when he will meet PM Narendra Modi, his idol. “I am both excited and nervous. It’s a dream come true for me. I wish my father had been alive to see this,” Vikas said. His mother Urmila, a mid-day meal worker, is on cloud nine for the success of her son.
The winners will leave for New Delhi to receive the awards on September 28.