The two-day first ever annual mountain megathon–SKY101 concluded here today at Skyview World, Sanget, famous Patnitop hill resort of Jammu and Kashmir.The first-of-its-kind event in India, which tested athletes on their multi-discipline sports endurance and skills on the rough terrain of Himalayan foothills, saw participation from across the country.The event was organized by Patnitop Development Authority, Tourism department in collaboration with Skyview Empyrean.Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, congratulated the organizers for holding such a unique and educative event. He said that this exceptional event has provided an opportunity to local youth to rub their shoulders with athletes of national and international stature which will greatly help them further enhance their skills in the field.Terming the participants of the event as ambassadors of goodwill, peace and brotherhood across the nation, Advisor Khan exhorted upon them to share their experiences about the peaceful, fascinating and alluring environment of this famous tourist destination with others they would come across.
Advisor Khan emphasized upon the organizers for conducting such kind of events on regular basis so that sports tourism is promoted to the highest level in the region. He said that in recent years J&K Sports Council conducted plethora of activities in which more than 7 lakh youth participated and achieved new heights.Advisor, while elaborating on government’s initiatives being launched towards making the UT the most liked and sought tourist destination, said that LG administration is devotedly encouraging people especially youth to include physical activities and sports as an integral part of their day to day life to remain physically fit and mentally strong. He said that the government would leave no stone unturned to extend all possible support to the sports fraternity of the UT so that they bring laurels to J&K at national and International level. “We all have to work towards realizing Prime Minister’s goal of fit India movement”, he maintained.
During the two day programme, various events were conducted which inter alia included Sky run-10, Sky ride -30 Sky -40 Sky run-21, Sky ride - 80 and Sky 101.Pertinent to mention here that the program has been coordinated by Tourism department J&K, Cycling Federation of India, J&K Cycling Association and J&K Sports Council among others.Later, Advisor distributed trophies and mementoes among the winners and runner up on the occasion.Director Tourism, Jammu, Vivekanand Rai, Chief Executive Officer, Patnitop Development Authority, Sher Singh, Secretary J&K Sports Council, Nuzhat Gul, President Cycling Association J&K, Ravinder Singh, Chief Commissioner Cycling Federation of India, Dharmender Lamba, Chief Operating Officer, Skyview by Empyrean, Pankaj Mathur, M M Madavan, Facility Director, Narayana Super Speciality Hospital Katra, DGM Sales and Marketing, Syed Ali Jaffery attended the valedictory programme.