Sagar Chhetri, Gangtok 20 Mar:
The closing ceremony of the 8th North East Youth Festival 2025 was held here at Paljor Stadium on Thursday. The closing ceremony had the Chief Minister PS Tamang as the chief guest and was accompanied by the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse as the guest of honour.
The four-day long festival, which had started on 17 March, was organised by the Sports & Youth Affairs Department in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India. A series of competitive and non-competitive events were conducted at Paljor Stadium complex and other venues in and around Gangtok during the festival.
In his address, the CM shared that the theme for NEYF 2025, ‘Empower Youth, Empower Region- My Bharat, Viksit Bharat,’ resonates deeply with the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has laid out the ambitious roadmap of Viksit Bharat 2047 a vision to transform India into a fully developed nation on the completion of 100 Years of our independence.
He remarked that this mission was not just a government initiative but a call to action for every citizen, particularly the youth, to actively participate in building a prosperous and self-reliant Bharat.
The CM stated that the North Eastern Region has undergone a historic transformation and emerged as a hub of progress under the leadership of the PM Narendra Modi from 2014 and enhanced connectivity, improved infrastructure and economic expansion have been creating unprecedented opportunities for the youth of the region.
He also thanked the PM for giving the name of Astha Lakshmi to the Northeast Region and providing several opportunities to prosper and grow higher. He said the North East Region stands at the threshold of limitless possibilities and it was the most favourable time for young minds to dream big, take bold steps, and steer the region toward greater prosperity.
CM stated that northeastern youth have been doing well in sports, arts and culture at the global level and the region has already produced world class athletes, musicians and artists.
He stated that the government has been committed to investing in sports infrastructure, academies and cultural programs to further nurture talents and promote regional art, music and filmmaking at the national and global platforms. He added that the government was also committed to using social media and digital avenues to elevate the Northeast as a cultural powerhouse.
He said the pristine nature of the Northeast was the greatest asset of the region so the youth must become the torchbearers of sustainable progress, advocating for responsible tourism and conservation efforts.
He also encouraged youth of the region to have a collective commitment of Viksit Bharat 2047 envisioned by the PM to contribute to fulfil this goal. He expressed his confidence that the youth of the region will lead India towards a brighter tomorrow.
In her address, the Minister of State congratulated the CM and entire team of NEYF 2025 for successful completion of the festival in Sikkim. She said the North East Youth Festival was not only a very significant event for the youth of the north eastern region and other parts of the country to gather together but for the promotion of unity, cooperation and mutual learning. She stated that such events would help to further nurture and hone talent and skills of youths in different fields and would inspire them to serve and contribute to the nation.
She spoke about various programmes and schemes of the government of India to empower youth by creating opportunities and platforms in different fields and encouraged them take full advantage of these opportunities and platforms.
In his address, the Minister SYAD Raju Basnet said under the youth-centric and youth-friendly leadership of the CM, Sikkim successfully hosted the festival in a grand manner. He congratulated the Secretary, officers and staffs of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and everyone involved for the success of the festival.
Earlier, in her welcome address, Secretary Yangchen D Lama mentioned that the festival was an annual event of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the region and to provide the platform to youths to showcase their talent and skills.
The closing ceremony started with the introduction of participants of different contingents with the chief guest and guest of honour and was followed by March past by contingents of different North Eastern States and NSS and NYK Sangathan and screening of message of the Union Minister Youth Affairs and Sports.
The ceremony also witnessed martial art demonstrations by artists from Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and followed by a series of cultural presentations by groups of different States and prize distribution of different competitive events.
