In a bid to give boost to the sports activities and channelizing the energy of youth in positive direction, the J&K Health & Medical Education Department will organize a State level Football Tournament in the Valley, most probably in the months of July-August this year.The tournament will be organized in association with the J&K Sports Council in all districts on knock-out basis, involving the teams of all Government Degree Colleges, Medical Colleges, and Dental Colleges across the state. The quarter final, semi-final and final will be played in Srinagar. The slogan of the tournament will be “Khelo Sehat Ke Liay” - Play for Health.Modalities related to the proposed tournament were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Minister for Health & Medical Education, Bali Bhagat here today. It was decided that the Sports Council will devise an action plan of the tournament within a fortnight and submit to the Health & Medical Education Department for final nod.Project Director, J&K State AIDS Control Society, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed Rather was nominated as State level Nodal Officer whileas the Deputy Chief Medical Officers of all districts will be nominated as District level Nodal Officer for the tournament.
The Minister said the sports activities are mandatory for physical as well as mental health for all, and Government will devise a long term strategy to hold regular sports events in future for the benefit of the doctors, medical students and those of other educational institutions. This will not only create greater interest of youth towards the sports activities, but also provide them a platform to exhibit their talent which can pave the way for their entry in the national level events.The Health Minister called upon the Heads of Departments to ensure close coordination with each other, putting dedicated efforts for making the proposed event a grand success. He said the sports is a cause for promoting good health as well as engaging students in the arena, thus a collective and sustained effort is needed for its smooth conduct.Commissioner/Secretary Health & Medical Education, Dr Pawan Kotwal, Secretary Technical H&ME, Dr Abdul Kabir Dar, Secretary J&K Sports Council, Wahid-ur-Rehman Parra, Principal SKIMS, Bemina, Prof Riyaz Ahmed Untoo, Principal GMC, Srinagar, Prof Saima Rashid, Director Health Services, Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman, Project Director, J&K AIDS Control Society, Dr M A Rather, Football Coach Mehraj-ud-Din Wadoo were present in the meeting.