Cuttack: Biju Yuva Vahinis formed in the city will get sports equipment worth Rs 29.50 lakh as part of a sub-scheme of the Biju Shashtrikaran Yojana.

The sports equipment will include those required for playing football, volley ball, badminton, chess, carom and cricket along with gymnasium kit, sources said.

Municipal commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra told The Telegraph on Thursday that Biju Yuva Vahinis had been constituted in all the 59 wards under the Cuttack Municipal Corporation.

"Around 2,800 youths in the age group of 15 to 35 with at least matriculation qualification have been enrolled as members in the Biju Yuva Vahinis in the city. A president and a secretary has been selected for each vahini in a ward," Mohapatra said.

On March 14, the Odisha cabinet had approved to launch Biju Yuva Vahini under Biju Shashtrikaran Yojana with the objective to nurture leadership and volunteerism, promote culture of sports and sportsmanship and healthy living among the youth.

The government planned to recruit as many as 8,000 Biju Yuva Vahinis in 6,800 gram panchayats and 120 urban local bodies to channelise the young energy of the state towards nation-building activities.

The process for distribution of sports equipment to the Biju Yuva Vahinis in Cuttack was initiated by the district administration on Tuesday.

At a meeting presided by District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) project director Sarojkanta Mohanty, it was decided that the sports equipment would be procured through tender process and distributed within 20 days.

"With Rs 50,000 allocated for each Biju Yuva Vahini, around Rs 2 crore would be spent in providing sports equipments to the 393 such vahinis with a membership of over 18,000 formed in the district," a senior official said.

BJD city unit working president Dharmesh Nayak said the idea behind the Biju Yuva Vahinis was to promote youth for volunteering and encourage them to be a part of various social action projects and community engagement activities.