Students take part in 25th District Jamboree 2014 of the District Bharat Scouts and Guides at Capital High School in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 28: Over 1,700 students from various schools in the city are taking part in the 25th District Jamboree 2014 of the Bhubaneswar District Bharat Scouts and Guides that is on at Capital High School here.

This is the highest number of students to have ever participated in this event, said Sonamika Ray, district commissioner of Guides and headmistress of the Capital High School.

Last year, 1,200 students had taken part in the event. The participants, who will be here till Wednesday, are participating in a host of activities including quiz, painting, physical display, campfire, folk dance competition, exhibition and colour party.

On the second day today, the students were seen participating in an event called Rural Bazaar. Dressed in clothes worn by villagers, students were seen selling everything from vegetables to matchsticks. Another group of students were seen selling food items such as bread chops, sandwiches, chaat and dahi vada.

“We made them on our own with almost no help from our elders,” said Deepshikha, a student of DAV Pokhariput. Pratyasha, who was offering to put mehendi on the hands of visitors for Rs 10, said: “This is a great way to make use of my painting skills. I have already made Rs 60,” said she.

Later in the evening, the students enjoyed a campfire and cultural events. The list of activities tomorrow includes band performance and administering first aid.

Bandana Mohapatra, the district secretary of Guides, Khurda, said 50 students would be selected from the state level who will participate in the national jamboree scheduled to be held in the first week of January in Rajasthan.

All schools — both government and private — have scout and guide units of 32 students each. Usually, students from Class VI or higher can participate.

A least two periods every week are dedicated to scouts and guides in all schools and students are taught life skills such as compass estimation, first aid, knotting, camp craft, rescue, hiking, speed-cooking and disaster preparedness.

The annual event provides the schools with an opportunity to showcase the activities they have been doing over the past year.