DC Ramban inaugurates Youth Festival at Patnitop

Participants of marathon at Patnitop on Sunday.
Participants of marathon at Patnitop on Sunday.

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

RAMBAN, Mar 19: Deputy Commissioner, Mussarat Islam inaugurated Ramban Festival of Youth, Run for Fun 1.0 – a marathon and cultural event today.
The event was organised by the District Employment & Counselling Centre in collaboration with District Administration Ramban and Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) as part of Revitalisation of Youth Clubs under Mission Youth at Patnitop.
Among others present on the occasion were BDC Chairperson Rajeshwar Kumar, DDC Batote Jagvir Dass, CEO PDA Thakur Sher Singh, CMO Dr Kamal Zadu, Tehsildar Batote Vijay Kumar, AD Employment & Counselling Centre Shushant Mahajan and DFO Kuldeep Singh. The event witnessed a huge footfall of visitors to Patnitop.
The marathon ‘Run For Fun 1.0’ started from JKTDC Reception Centre to Padora and was flagged off by the Deputy Commissioner along with BDC Chairman Rajeshwar Kumar, DDC Member, Jagbeer and CEO PDA, Thakur Sher Singh.
Earlier, the DC and other dignitaries including students planted saplings of 80 different pine trees in Forest Park at Patnitop.
The main attraction of the programme was thrilling performances by famous local singers from Ramban district Komal Rakwal, Omar Wani, Ronak Singh and Jiwan Singh as well as flute player Surjit Singh and Thali dancers Dharminder and Dara Singh who enthralled the audience with their presentations.
While educating the youth, Deputy Commissioner Ramban stated that drug abuse is a serious problem that affects not only individuals but also families and communities. He emphasised the importance of tackling the issue from multiple perspectives including deterrence, treatment and enforcement.
The DC reiterated that District Administration is committed to create a drug-free environment in the district and will continue to take all necessary steps to achieve this goal.
The programme aimed to educate youth about self-employment opportunities available through different livelihood generating schemes rolled out by the Government for aspiring youth besides educating individuals particularly youth about associated dangers of drug abuse.
During the programme CMO Dr Kamal Zadu spoke on physical, psychological, mental and behavioural signs for early detection of drug abuse and steps to help prevent drug misuse in children and teenagers.
A large number of tourists from various parts of India thronged Padora at Patnitop to enjoy the events. Speaking on the occasion Deputy Commissioner appealed to unemployed youth to become self-employed entrepreneurs to generate livelihood for themselves and others.