Around 900 athletes from 14 degree colleges and 5 higher secondary schools will compete in seven disciplines over three days
Sopore, Oct 5 : The first-ever North Kashmir Sports Festival, and the region’s first women’s sports festival, kicked off at Government Degree College (GDC) for Women here on Monday, with around 900 athletes from 14 degree colleges and five higher secondary schools set to compete across seven disciplines over three days.
According to The Web Story/The Varmul Post, The event was inaugurated by Commissioner Secretary Higher Education Ram Nivas Sharma as the Chief Guest.
Secretary Higher Education Safqat Iqbal and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sopore Iftikhar Talib attended the opening ceremony as Guests of Honour, along with Prof. Subeena Chiloo, Principal of the host college and a key organiser of the festival.
The proceedings opened with an ‘Izband’ ceremony performed by students of the college, officials said.
The dignitaries felicitated the Chief Guest, Guests of Honour and stakeholders behind the event, including Event Sponsor Ajaiz Ahmad Bhat of Lazzat Masala and Executive Engineer Javed Hussain Faktoo. Physical Directors from across North Kashmir were also recognised for their contributions to physical education, they added.
Prof. Subeena Chiloo presented the welcome address, and the college’s Bi-Annual Newsletter and Annual College Magazine, ‘MEHAK’, were released during the inaugural session.
“This is the first women’s sports festival of North Kashmir. The scale of the event is unprecedented for the region,” an official said.
Dr. Tanvir Ahmad Bhat, the College Physical Director and Sports Coordinator, presented a detailed note on the structure and significance of the event, while Prof. Zubair Syed Masoodi conducted the proceedings and Prof. Pervez Ahmad Dar delivered the vote of thanks.
Principals of Degree Colleges and Higher Secondary Schools from across North Kashmir, along with members of the local media fraternity, attended the ceremony, officials added.
