All documents and luggage are ready. Just 48 hours left to catch the Darjeeling Mail to Kolkata. Then on the 30th, departure from Howrah to Delhi. Sangam Ray from Jalpaiguri is set to participate in the Republic Day parade on Rajpath in Delhi on January 26. He is the only selected NSS volunteer from among the seven districts of North Bengal.
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Commerce student emerges from multi-tier selection to earn national honour
Sangam, a third-year student at Jalpaiguri Anandachandra Commerce College, is being sent by the state NSS (National Service Scheme) Regional Director. Growing up in a middle-class family, Sangam's father Sanjaykumar Ray died in a road accident last year. After passing school in 2023, he enrolled in the commerce stream at college. After joining NSS, he participated in a camp organized at Surya Sen College in Siliguri in 2023-24. There he won the district NSS Youth Icon Award in a competitive event. In the same year, this young man received the National Excellent Work Award from a voluntary organization.
The selection process for the January 26 parade was multi-tiered. A camp was set up at the university for North Bengal selection of parade participants. Four people were selected from among 30 there. Sangam was among them. Then on November 17, he participated in a 10-day state-level pre-Republic Day selection camp at Diamond Harbour.
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Volunteers from 10 states including West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Manipur participated there. Based on drill, cultural activities, physical fitness, discipline and interview, eight out of 50 from the state were selected. Among them, Sangam is the only representative from North Bengal.
As soon as the news of Sangam's selection came on December 16, there was joy in the family and college. The college also felicitated him.
