Gulmarg, January 10: While this year’s heavy snowfall gave a much needed boost to tourism industry and brought smile and delight on the faces of those associated with tourism in Kashmir, a Winter Youth Festival-2019 organized by Army in collaboration Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department under the aegis of Dagger Division of Srinagar based Chinar Corps was inaugurated on Thursday at Gulmarg.
General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh was chief guest who inaugurated the festival with flagging off of ATV Race. He was flanked by GoC Chinar Corps Lieutenant General A K Bhatt, GOC Dagger Division, Major General G S Rawat, Commandant HAWS Major General Atul Koushik, SSP Baramulla Imtiyaz Hussain and other senior Army, Police and Civil administration officials.
The main attractions of the event were winter sports such as Snow Scooter and all Terrain Vehicle Races, Skiing, and Snowman Making Competition, which garnered maximum participation.
It showcased the enormous potential that Gulmarg has for winter sports and adventure activities. Apart from these, other attractions included live performance by local bands, Photography exhibition-cum Competition, stalls by J&K Tourists Department, High Altitude Warfare School and Indian Institute of skiing and Mountaineering.
GoC Northern Command Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh also adjudged the winner of photography competition and visited various stalls to encourage the participants.
Besides, a huge crowd of local and domestic tourists flocked the venue in addition to the school children from various local as well as Army Goodwill Schools from the entire region who added colour to the festival.
A large number of tourists also participated in the competition during the festival and enjoyed the event. Special games and food stalls added to the fun and frolic. The wholehearted participation of the locals as well as tourist in all the competition was a testimony to the improving peace and harmony in the area and is reflective of the constructive role that the Army is playing in spreading goodwill in the pristine valley.
