Srinagar: “Wular Festival” was organized by the Indian Army at Laharwalpura Ghat from Sep 07 to Sep 09, 2021.
“The three-day extravaganza was aimed at creating environmental awareness AND promoting watersports & tourism in the area. The Festival also focused on empowering women as well as the local fishing communities by providing a platform to showcase their talent,” said PRO (defence) Srinagar.
“The Civil Administration, JKP, CRPF and the local awam were taken on board for this initiative wherein sports, education and entertainment came together in perfect synergy to create a magical festival,” the PRO said.
“Major events conducted as part of the festival included Men’s Marathon, Women’s Marathon, Bicycle Rally, Painting Competition, Declamation Competition, Cleanliness Drive, One Man Kishtie Race, Three Men Kishtie Race, Five Men Kishtie Race and Three Women Kishtie Race. Apart from these competitions, a multitude of activities geared towards generating awareness in various fields were organised to include folk songs & dance, environmental awareness, traditional fishing skills etc,” he said.
“In a unique first, girls of Bandipora have shown willingness to wholeheartedly participate in the events and they were given full opportunity to do so with unique events specifically targeted towards girls to include marathon and kishtie race in addition to open events,” the PRO said.
“The festival has impacted people from all walks of life and age groups with total numbers estimated to be in several hundred. It has generated awareness about the immense tourism as well as sports potential of the Wular Lake and provided opportunities to the local populace to harness it for the upliftment of the socio-economic fabric in the adjoining areas,” he added.
