Students take part in the quiz competition in Sambalpur. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Aug. 12: A quiz competition on the freedom movement and the patriots evoked encouraging response with students from 24 schools and 16 colleges participating in it.

The competition is organised in memory of freedom fighter Bhagirathi Pattnaik. Hence, 48 students from 24 schools of Sambalpur district have participated in the junior-level and 32 students from 16 colleges in the senior-level,” said Satyanarayan Thakur, member of the Odisha Sanskrutik Samaj, which hosted the competition.

“The objective of the competition was to let students know about the freedom movement. Now, the students have become so career-oriented that they get little time to know about the patriots. Through this competition, we wanted to let them have a fair idea about the struggle,” said Ashok Pradhan, former secretary of Samaj.

“We also organise a quiz competition on Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti,” he said.

“This is an encouraging initiative. We get the scope to know a lot of things about the freedom struggle and the freedom fighters. Moreover, we get the scope to interact with the students of various educational institutions,” said Subodh Kar, a participant.

“Nowadays, the students have become career-oriented. Nobody is bothered about the freedom fighters and their sacrifice. However, the quiz competition is a platform to let the students know about the nation’s history. Everyone should know about the patriots’ sacrifice,” said Sujit Behera, another participant.