Gujarat government to open Army schools in tribal areas

The Gujarat government will open Army schools in tribal-dominated areas to provide required training to youths and to help them get selected to serve in defence forces, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Wednesday.

Rupani also expressed his government's resolve to ensure overall development of tribals in the state.

"Tribal youths are naturally strong and physically fit. They have all the qualities to become ideal soldiers. To make them compatible with the requirements of the Army, we have decided to open Army schools in tribal areas. This would ensure that a large number of tribal youths become eligible to join the Army," the chief minister said.

Rupani was speaking at a function in tribal-dominated Chhota Udepur district, around 170km from here.

The BJP government, as announced earlier, has set up medical colleges in the tribal-majority districts of Dahod, Tapi, Surat and Valsad, he said.

Rupani said his government has taken adequate steps to ensure that tribal population is not deprived of higher and technical education.

He addressed youths and women at two events in Chhota Udepur as part of the Independence Day celebrations.

The chief minister will host the tricolour at Chhota Udepur, where the main state-level event of the 73^rd Independence Day will be held on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Rupani, through a video message, addressed the people of Gujarat on the eve of Independence Day.

In the message, Rupani thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for scrapping provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the Centre's decisions on Jammu and Kashmir has made this Independence Day truly historic for the people of India. Rupani said Gujarat will take a lead in realising Modi's dream of building a 'New India'.