By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 21 Oct: UPES NSS organised a National Service Scheme (NSS) Camp at Bhauwala Village in Sahaspur Block, here. The weeklong camp at the village promoted healthcare, protection of the environment, road safety and sensitised the local students and residents to the importance of regular health checkups, observation of traffic rules and various banking schemes launched by the government for the wellbeing of the rural folk. Village residents, students, government officials and Gram Panchayat members contributed to the camp. Dr Shaily Singhal, Professor, Department of Chemistry and the NSS Coordinator at UPES, revealed that the National Service Scheme became operational in UPES from February 2018. Since then, the UPES NSS Unit has been organising activities related to social problems. Dr Amar Shukla, the Programme Officer, UPES NSS Unit-1, revealed that students enrolled in the university are its NSS Volunteers. The UNIT-1 members comprise Dr Shalini Vohra – Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities; Dr Shilpi Agarwal – Assistant Professor, Chemistry; and Nitin Arora – Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science; while Dr Ratna Banerjee – Assistant Professor, Management, is the Programme Officer of UNIT-2. Dr Amar Shukla and Praveen Chauhan, Gram Pradhan, Bhauwala, briefed the villagers on the importance of NSS and its role in the development of society. The volunteers conducted various Cleanliness and Plantation Drives during the camp and carried out sensitisation and awareness campaigns on the importance of environment safety. Road Safety Campaigns were held on how to prevent loss of lives due to mishaps and accidents. Activities such as poster making, singing, dancing, poetry, etc., were conducted for the local community school children that helped in drawing out their hidden talents. Government medical officials accompanying the UPES NSS Team gave valuable health tips to the residents, while the Medical Officers, Dr Nutan Mishra and Dr Dhirender Singh Rawat counselled the rural population on contagious diseases such as Hepatitis A & B; AIDS; Dengue, Syphilis, etc., and their prevention. The residents were also updated on various government banking schemes like the ‘Beema Yojana’, etc., by bank officials. Felicitating the local community students at the Valedictory Function, Dr Shailey Singhal urged everyone to instill noble human and social values among the youth to ensure creation of a healthy society. NSS Presidential Body members Rehan Sheikh, Sharad Walia, Shweta and Abhishek Joshi along with 35 plus student volunteers participated in the camp. Dr Veena Dutta, Registrar; Dr Kamal Bansal, Dean, School of Engineering; Dr Pankaj Sharma – Associate Dean; and Arun Dhand, Senior Director applauded the UPES NSS Team for successful conduct of the Camp.
