Noamundi, April 17 : In a move towards preservation and promotion of tribal culture, the Ore Mines & Quarries (OMQ) Division of Tata Steel has come forward to revive the tribal sport “Sekkor” at Noamundi.
A seven-day “Sekkor Residential Training Programme” for tribal children was inaugurated on April 17 at Noamundi Sports Complex by Pankaj Satija, General Manager (OMQ), Tata Steel.
Speaking on the occasion, Satija said, “We`ve been working on various facets of tribal culture, including tribal music and dance, agro forest food diversity, interventions to preserve and promote tribal languages and tribal scripts. With this intervention, we are trying to inculcate the spirit of sportsmanship amongst the tribal children and revive the tribal sport, “Sekkor”.”
Urmila Ekka, Head Tribal Culture, Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Steel motivated the participants to take up challenges in life. Ekka said, “This is for the first time that we are holding such programme in Noamundi in a big way. I am happy to see the response and look forward to taking this tribal sport to a higher level.”
Around 300 children of this region will be trained in “Sekkor” by “Sekkor” trainers from Jharkhand. The residential training programme will be conducted in three batches having 100 children in each batch. The programme will conclude on May 8, 2017. Post training, these children will play in the “Sekkor Premier League” in May this year.
“Sekkor” is a game played by the “HO” tribe. This game is played during the hot summer season and is believed to bring rain and prevent drought. Played between 9 or 11 people, this game identifies with the spirit and swiftness of the “HO” tribe. With the passage of time, this game of precision is no longer recognised as a popular game; hence, Tata Steel has taken initiative to revive this forgotten game.
Present on the occasion were R P Mali, Chief Noamundi Iron Mine, Tata Steel Krishna Bodra, President, Adivasi Ho Samaj, Tata Steel Rural Development Society officials and Union office bearers and officers of Tata Steel OMQ Division.