Mangaluru: Ex-NCC cadets motivate youths to join defence forces

UDUPI: A group of former NCC cadets has formed Team Nation First to encourage students to join the defence forces.
The core members include ex-NCC cadets from the 2005 batch onwards, who were keen on joining the armed forces but did not make it.
Sathwik Gadiyar, a core member, and currently in the textile business, said: "We have realised that the number of aspirants wanting to join the defence forces in Udupi is comparatively low. Hence, a group of former NCC cadets currently in Udupi decided to motivate and train the youth as well as take up various social awareness drives."
He said the team, under the leadership of Sooraj Kidiyoor, aims at reaching out to high school and college students and explaining to them about the options available and the benefits of joining the armed forces.
"We are also in touch with former NCC cadets who are serving in the armed forces and constantly seek their guidance when conducting events. Though we have been working for almost a decade, we formally launched Team Nation First in 2020, with 14 core members," he said.
Currently, Agni Sethu, a 20-day camp to train students to join the Agnipath Scheme, is being held at the Ajjarkad district stadium. About 43 aspirants are participating.
As part of the silver jubilee celebrations of Udupi district, the team will organise a 75km Agnipath Daud to spread awareness about Agnipath, a defence recruitment scheme.
"The run is through various taluks, prominent educational institutions, town centres and villages in Udupi on Wednesday and Thursday. We expect at least 500 participants to run and about 40,000 people will be involved in this event. It is also to project how Udupi has grown as an education hub. A total five teams will be formed with 100 members each, and each member will run for about 3km. The run will be more like a relay," said Gadiyar.
The team also engages the youth in cleanliness drives on beaches, agriculture and other activities. Nation First has collaborated with rescuers to form a quick response team in emergencies and natural calamities.