Srinagar: Once a hotbed of stone-pelting and militancy, south Kashmir has given a massive response to the national anthem singing competition organised by the Jammu and Kashmir administration as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahostav’ celebrations, an official said on Monday.
“Under this competition around 9,000 entries having around 50,000 participants were received from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, which is four times more than the entries received last year, and almost equal submissions were received from both Kashmir and Jammu divisions,” Director Information and Public Relations Akshay Labroo said.
He said the districts of south Kashmir are “leading and have given overwhelming response in the number of submissions”.
To celebrate 75 years of independence and commemorate it as ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’, the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) had launched the National Anthem Singing Competition-2022 for which entries were made open online between August 1-7, an official spokesman said.
He said under this competition, the administration had called upon the people of Jammu and Kashmir to take part in the national anthem singing competition by submitting their entries through a Google link.
The entries were made open under individual and group categories. Under the individual category, people in two subcategories, 13-18 years and above 18 years of age, were allowed to take part in the competition whereas no age bar was kept for the group category.
Labroo said the entries received will be sent to respective deputy commissioners of participants who will choose the best three from each category.
The winners from each district will sing the national anthem at their respective district headquarters on Independence Day, he added.
The list of district-level winners will be forwarded to the divisional commissioners who will then finalise the winners, he added.
The winners of the competition will get cash awards of Rs 25,000, Rs 11,000 and Rs 5,000 for first, second and third prizes, respectively, Labroo said.
They will also get an opportunity to perform the national anthem at the divisional-level Independence Day celebrations, he said.
“Looking at the number of requests received for extending the deadline, the DIPR is thinking of opening another round of competition under ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’,” Labroo said.
