Mysore/Mysuru: A special vaccination drive for 250 Scouts and Guides in the age group of 18 to 44 years was launched at Baden Powel School here yesterday.

P.G.R. Sindhia, former Minister and State Chief Commissioner of Scouts & Guides, inaugurated this drive. Of the total 250 beneficiaries, 50 are School staff, 100 Rangers & Rovers and 100 others. The drive began at 10 am and went on till 4 pm.

Speaking on the occasion, he said Scouts & Guides were doing yeomen service during COVID crisis. As many as 15,000 teachers were in touch with students in the current pandemic. The students have stitched around 60 lakh face masks and distributed among public. Besides, they have distributed food packets to thousands of people and 5,000 food kits to needy. A 40 Oxygen Concentrators Bank has been created to provide free Oxygen to poor people.

Sindhia said 15,000 Scouts and Guides had worked as volunteers in the SSLC annual examination in 2020 and planning to offer this service in the coming examination. At least 3-4 volunteers were rendering service at vaccination centres. They were taking online classes on yoga for the benefit of people. The Scouts & Guides Jamboree was last held in Mysuru and it was supposed to be held this year. However, in view of Corona, it may be held in North India, he added.

District Chief Commissioner of Scouts & Guides and former Mayor, P. Vishwanath, Treasurer K.V. Gurumurthy, District Secretary and former Corporator, Abdul Zameer, Dr Nagaraj, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), MCC, Prabhushankar, Senior Health Officer, MCC and Pushpavalli, Guide Commissioner and former Deputy Mayor and others were present.

“I am in Congress”

Former Minister, P.G.R. Sindhia has said that he will be formally joining Congress Party soon. Clarifying that he had quit Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) long ago, he said he had joined the Congress during the Basavakalyana by-election. However, he will be soon joining Congress in the presence of senior leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, D.K. Shivakumar, K.H. Muniyappa, Siddharamaiah and others. In the current situation, Congress was the only powerful and secular party in country.

On talks of next Chief Minister both in Congress and BJP camps, Sindhia said he did not want to comment on internal issues of other parties and such talks were not required at a time when the State has been gripped by Coronavirus.

Asked about a few Congress MLAs projecting former CM Siddharamaiah for the next term, he said such issues must not be discussed in public  as their main aim must be to win the next Assembly polls. Both Shivakumar and MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan were working well by distributing food kits to thousands of people.