Srinagar: Today police organized counseling sessions for youth who have been found indulging in stone pelting at district Pulwama.
A team of experts had daylong sessions with these youth. The aim of the programme was to understand the situations which draw these youth towards these acts of violence. The programmes were held in different groups in which the counsellors encouraged the participants to talk freely and give vent to their emotions. The experts in these sessions have found certain issues confronting these youths including the need of providing more employment opportunities and some other issues related to the breakdown of relations. In these sessions the participants shared their feelings and various perspectives, were discussed for channelizing their energies towards gainful employment and for positive usage of their capabilities.
The experts also tried to assess their sociological perspective. Throughout the sessions the youth enumerated various problems being confronted by them and some of them need immediate attention. The experts in their interactions with the youth highlighted the importance of doing positive things for their own and society in large. The experts also discussed during the interaction the good entrepreneurship development activities carried out by different departments including J&K Entrepreneur Development Institute (EDI), Directorate of Lifelong Learning (DLL) University of Kashmir, University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) University of Kashmir and the professional courses run by the other Industrial Institutes in the valley. The experts also provided information of the employment schemes of the State and Central Government. The experts also touched briefly the consequences of drug abuse which has emerged as a major menace among the youth. The interactive sessions were followed by a compact brain storming sessions in which various solutions were discussed. The solutions were categorized and it was found that some solutions are within the hand of individual and his family, whereas, some solutions can be addressed by the society and some other by the policy makers and the Government.
On the basis of these sessions taking of a lenient view with regard to first time offenders is under consideration of police department. (GNS)