SRINAGAR – Indian Army in collaboration with GDA, J&K Tourism and the Gulmarg Hotel Association is conducting the “Amrit Joyti Gulmarg Winter Festival – 2022” from 04 to 06 March 2022. This year’s Festival is aligned with ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations that commemorates 75 Years of our Nation’s Independence.
This festival is a mega event encompassing a wide range of activities, which will showcase various facets of Gulmarg as a premier tourist destination and also bring to fore the immense creative potential of the Kashmiri youth. To add to the thrill and adventure, a variety of snow sports to include ATV, Snow Scooter & Snow Cycling races was organised on the first two days of the fest. A large number of winners from various categories were given attractive prizes. The highlights of the festival also included demonstrations by teams from the highly acclaimed High-Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) and the Indian Institute of Skilling & Mountaineering (IISM). In addition, other special attractions included breath taking free fall demonstration by Para Special Forces, slithering demonstration by the Commandos and a scintillating performance by the Military Pipe Band.
The attractions of the festival also included musical performances by several renowned local performers including Yemberzal Dance Group, MJ Alive Group, Waqar Khan, Aabid Aly, Wasim Khan and Shafi Sopori to name a few. Few emerging youth were also encouraged to perform at the festival. Several celebrities from the Indian Film Industry were part of the events. Ms Neelam Kothari, Bollywood actor & renowned jewellery designer and Mr Samir Soni, Bollywood actor & director added grace to the celebrations at Gulmarg. There were also several online competitions conducted as part of the festival. These included Singing, Painting and Logo Designing, that aimed to encourage and showcase the creativity of the local population. A plethora of activities including musical performances and an exhibition gallery has been planned for 06 Mar 22, the last day of the mega event. The “Amrit Jyoti Gulmarg Winter Festival-2022” is thus promoting ‘Vocal for Local’ and is be one of its kind event.
Lt Gen DP Pandey, GOC Chinar Corps while speaking at the event today, complimented the youth for participating in large numbers in the Gulmarg Fest. He exhorted the youth to imbibe discipline, hard work, a healthy lifestyle and imbibe strong focus in life, to achieve eminence in any field they choose to pursue. He urged the youth to have an inquisitive mind and invest themselves in quality education. He further said that Kashmir is blessed with abundance of art, culture and music, which ensures joy and happiness in the hearts of every citizen. GOC Chinar Corps stated that Indian Army is taking proactive steps to assist the local youth in becoming progressive global citizens and urged them to help the Govt establish India including Kashmir at the pinnacle that it deserves.
Gulmarg is the pride of Jammu & Kashmir, the most renowned tourist destination of the region. The tourist arrival to Gulmarg was severely disrupted in last two years on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gulmarg Festival aimed at providing further impetus to tourism sector by promoting Gulmarg as Winter sports destination, as well as showcasing a range of local talent across a spectrum of activities. The era of normalcy and all-round development in Jammu & Kashmir is amply evident in the revival of multifarious economic, social, cultural & tourist activities, most of which are new led by the youth especially women & girls. The Indian Army continues to be a major & positive catalyst in encouraging and supporting a wide range of such initiatives & activities. The “Amrit Joyti Gulmarg Winter Festival-2022” organized by the Indian Army with the active participation and support of all sections of the society and the local administration is another apt example of the close synergy & positive relations between the citizens and Indian Army.
