Minister for Industries and Commerce, Chander Parkash, today inaugurated annual sports mela at Sports Stadium, organized under Civic Action Programme 2016-17 by District Police Samba.In the month long event, the school children from across the district shall be participating in athletics, Track and Field, Kabbaddi, Football and other games.Vice-Chairman J&K OBC Advisory Board, Rashpaul Verma, Legislator, Dr Devinder Manyal, Deputy Commissioner, Samba, Sheetal Nanda, SSP, Joginder Singh, Additional SP Raja Adil Hamid, senior officials from the district and police administration, school children and prominent citizens were present on the occasion.The Minister emphasized the importance of such programmes as these events help in further strengthening of police-public relationship. He lauded the district police for providing excellent platform to children for showcasing their talent in these district level events to further harness their skills. He said that various studies have proved that sports prevent drug abuse and crime among youth. He called upon the participants to strive hard in further improving and developing their sports talent so that they would be able to represent the state at national and international level. Vice Chairman OBC Board also spoke on the occasion and complimented the District Police for organizing the event.Later, the Minister and other dignitaries interacted with the participating students and encouraged them for a bright future in their chosen fields.