STATE TIMES NEWS RAJOURI: The two-day mega cultural cum tourism promotion festival organised by the Directorate of Tourism in collaboration with the District Administration and JKAACl sub Office Rajouri, as a part of Azadi Ka Ait Mahotsav, began with full verve on Saturday in Rajouri. The event has been organised to promote the local culture and boost tourist footfall in the Rajouri district and the first day of the programme was organised here on the lawn of the PWD Dakbunglow Rajouri. DDC Chairman Rajouri, Naseem Liyaqat; Vice Chairman DDC, Shabir Khan,; DDC Rajouri, Rajesh K Shavan; ADDC, Pawan Kumar; ADC, Sachin Dev Singh; ACR, Tahir Mustafa Malik; ASP, Vivek Shekhar; PO ICDS, Kartar Singh; CEO RDA, Vivek Puri, CEO , Gulzar Hussain, ACD, Sushil Khajuria; District Culture Officer, Dr Alam Dar; DSWO, DSHO, Dr Sarfraz Nasem Chowdhary; Wakeel Ahmed Bhatt, Army Officer/Paramilitary MilitaryOfficers, Renowned Social Workers besides other district and sectoral officers were present in the programme. BDC chairman Rajouri, Darbar Choudhary, DDC Member Thanamandi, Abdul Qayoom Mir; DDC member, Iqbal Malik, President MC Rajouri, Mohd Arif, President MC Thanamandi, Shakeel Mir, Vice chairperson MC Rajouri , Bharat Bushan, Chairperson MC Kalakote, EX VC Pahari Advisory Board, Kuldeep Raj Gupta, Rajinder Gupta, other sarpanches, Panchs also attended the programme. Audience in large numbers witnessed the first day of the cultural cum tourism festival. The local artists as well as the artists from outside of the UT including Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Ramban, Doda, Reasi, Jammu, Ramban, Punjab, Haryana, Kathua and Jammu participated in the event. The cultural troupes enthralled the audience with their performance which was appreciated by the audience amid thundering applause. Regional and state cultural level events were also displayed. Mostly Gojri, Pahari, Kashmiri, Dogri and Gaddi languages were promoted in the programme. Special cultural item in the form of skits on Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan was also performed during the event besides an oath to make the district free from drug menace was also administered to all the participants. The artists also raised awareness on COVID Appropriate Behaviour and the public was urged to follow all the safety measures to avoid the risk of Coronavirus infection. In his address during the event, the Deputy Commissioner emphasised the importance of the preservation of the cultural identity of an area and said that in addition to its intrinsic value, culture provides important social and economic benefits and it also enhances our quality of life and increases overall well-being for both individuals and communities The Deputy Commissioner also said that these cultural fests help to create the district its own identity on the cultural front and also help local artists to interact with their fraternity from other States.
