Lucknow, Dec 27 (IANS): The urban youth in Uttar Pradesh will now get an opportunity to join the Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD).

The Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) was established for creating self-confidence and communal harmony among villagers to inculcate a feeling of self-reliance and discipline among them and for self-protection and controlling crime.

The state government is now constituting urban companies of the PRD in ten big cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow.

Earlier, the PRD was essentially rural based and only rural youths were given a chance to join it.

According to the government spokesman, in the first phase, a total of 1,050 youths will be enrolled and like the rural company, each urban company of the PRD will also be having 105 youths.

This also includes the enrolment of 11 women in one section of the company. The enrolment of 11 women has been made compulsory here.

The urban companies will be raised in Lucknow. Agra, Aligarh, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Kanpur, Moradabad and Gorakhpur.

The Prantiya Rakshak Dal Act and Rules in 1948, has a provision for an urban company but for the past 71 years, it remained unattended.

Dimple Varma, the Additional Chief Secretary and Director General of the Youth Welfare and PRD department, said, "We sent this proposal to the government and after getting the nod, we have started the enrollment for the urban companies. Till date, we have selected and enrolled 20 youths in each company. This will increase in the future."

After their selection, the youths will be given 22-day training. Besides this, 15-day refresher training is also given to them from time to time with their duties.

At present, there are about 45,000 youths (male and female both in age group 18 to 60 years) enrolled in the PRD in the State, she added.