Vijayawada, October 18: P Nagaraju, a 17-year-old intermediate boy in NCC uniform, was seen busy in assigning duties to fellow cadets at the Kanakadurga temple. He was the lone incharge to guide 216 NCC cadets, who were involved in assisting the police and temple staff ensuring a safe darshan for the devotees.
The police deployed 870 NSS, 216 NCC cadets and 26 NCC Air wing cadets from various colleges in the city, whose services at Indrakeeladri during the Navaratri festivities drew applause from all quarters.
Be it assisting the elderly and the physically handicapped to have a safe darshan of the deity or regulating the flow of devotees atop Indrakeeladri, these cadets were seen extending helping hand. They also assisted the police in the control room and in maintaining traffic discipline at various places in the city.
The cadets distributed water sachets to pilgrims and guided devotees along the 5 km queue from the Vinayaka temple to Kanakadurga Nagar.
”No difficulties at all. Twoyears of NCC training taught us how to handle such situations. The qualification and age hardly matter,” Nagaraju said.
Pilgrims arriving from across the state were of the opinion that the cadets were enjoying more serving at the Indrakeeladri than the regular police.
According to KBN College NSS programme officer V Narayana Rao, thehistory of involvement of the NCC and NSS cadets at the Navaratri festival dates back to 25 years.
Many ministers, Vijayawada Police, district administration and temple executive officer N Vijay Kumar hailed the services of these cadets.
–Agencies