Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Choudhary today called upon the youth to learn from the sacrifices of the martyrs and play their role in nation building.The Minister was addressing the gathering during the concluding ceremony of Half Marathon at Bana Singh Stadium, R S Pura.The ‘Run for BSF Martyrs’ was organized by Border Security Force in memory of BSF personnel who laid down their lives while defending the borders. It was organized in collaboration with Communication and Capacity Development Unit of PHE, I&FC Department, State Bank of India and JK Channel.The Minister paid tributes to the local BSF martyrs who gave the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and honoured the NoKs of 16 local BSF personnel.The 21.5 km long Half Marathon was flagged off by DIG, BSF SHQ Indreshwar Nagar Pardeep Katyal in which 517 participants belonging to different age groups and hailing from different villages participated.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said every individual should realize his responsibilities towards his country and contribute towards the development of the nation in whichever way possible. There is a need to educate the children about the sacrifices given by our jawans for keeping us safe at our homes, he added.He urged the youth to actively take part in these kinds of programmes as sports activities keep the body and mind fit and also helps in achieving the commanding heights in life.Later, the Minister distributed cash prizes among the winners of the Half Marathon.Sunil Choudhary was honoured with a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 for picking up the first spot in the Run. Constable Vilas Bishnoi and Dalbir Singh clinched second and third positions and were given a cash prize of Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively. Mukesh Kumar was also given a consolation prize of Rs. 5,000 while as 66-yr-old Om Parkash and a differently-abed Makhan Lal were given special cash prizes of Rs. 2,000 each.Commandant (OPS) SHQ Harmeet Singh, Commandant 176 Bn BSF Yuvraj Dubey, Commandant 78 Bn BSF V.K Singh, Commandant 192 Bn BSF Amarbir Yadav, SDM RS Pura Naresh Sharma and other officers of the district administration were present in the programme.