Imphal, November 16: The State Youth Affairs and Sports (YAS) Department is making all out efforts to frame a �State Youth Policy� with a view to solve the problems confronting the youths of the State and show them proper direction to channelise their potential.

The draft of the policy would be produced for approval in the forthcoming winter Assembly session so that the policy could be implemented from 2004-05, a top official of the department informed.

The official said that a 15-member State level drafting committee with YAS Director as chairman and YAS Senior Youth Officer as convenor had already been formed on September 20 for the purpose of grafting the policy.

The Directors of Higher Education and Edu (S), SCERT, Art & Culture, Social Welfare, Health, Family Welfare, Addl Dir of Adult Education, Registrar of Co-Operative Societies, Joint Registrar, State Co-ordinators of Nehru Yuva Kendra and representatives of NGOs and youth organizations are other members of the drafting committee.

The first draft of the policy has been completed and the process is on for bringing out the final one, the official said.

It may be noted here that as per the notification issued by YAS Deputy Secretary on September last, the draft of the policy had to be submitted within two months of forming the drafting committee.

Talking to The Sangai Express, some of the leaders of youth organizations, while noting that many of the problems are related to youths, expressed their ardent desire for early approval and implementation of the State Youth Policy.

It would help in solving many of the youth-related problems to a large extend, they opined.

They said that, though the development of youth in the field of sports is exemplary, only 20 to 30 per cent of the youths in the State are engaged in sports and the rest are those educated youth who are trying to eke out a living or not knowing what to do in life.

Lack of employment opportunities and a sense of directionlessness being felt by these youths also help rising the graph of crime in the society.

Our society could only move ahead when these frustrated youths are given proper guidance, they said.

They also expressed concern over the fact that most of the youth centres established in the State have stopped functioning due to paucity of fund and other problems.

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