CHANDIGARH: A gram panchayat in Punjab has resolved to financially support candidates appearing for civil services examinations, opting for armed forces or pursuing their MBBS or engineering studies.A resolution towards this extent was passed by the Akrri village panchayat, which has a population of 800 inhabitants. The village is situated in Ghanaur block of Patiala.The newly elected panchayat of the village which has 562 voters met for the first time on Sunday after the Panchayat election and took several decisions in the presence of all the villagers. The sarpanch and panches of the panchayat are all below 40-years of age and have been elected for the first time.Talking with this newspaper, sarpanch of Akrri village 38-year old Jaswinder Singh who is a carpenter by profession said that the panchayat meeting held on December 22 unanimously decided to financially support IAS aspirants and others who was to become a doctor, engineer or join the armed forces.”The money spent on the deserving youth will be a one-time investment so that they can continue to help fellow villagers after they achieve something in life thus other youngsters will get inspired from their achievement,’’ he said.The villagers said several girl students were earlier hesitant to approach coaching institutes for preparation but the resolution passed by the newly elected panchayat would help them in a big way.”Last year, six girls from the village had topped in various exams. Of them, five were from a poor families, now such bright students will be able to chase their dreams and compete in competitive exams,” the villagers said.Besides funding studies, those who bring laurels to the village by participating in sports events at district, state, national and international level will be given financial help and additional facilities, Jaswinder Singh said.
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