Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, on Friday visited Kupwara and participated in the grand concluding ceremony of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a nationwide campaign aimed at spreading awareness and ensuring saturation of flagship government schemes.
Witnessing overwhelming public participation, the mega VBSY event was attended by Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Ayushi Sudan, Vice Chairman, District Development Council Kupwara, Haji Farooq Ahmad Mir, ADDC Kupwara, Altaf Ahmad Khan, CEO LBDDA Zargar Geelani, DDC Member Drugmulla, Advocate Amina Majeed, district officers, representatives of local bodies, PRIs besides the general public of Kupwara town.
Dr. Abid Rasheed, while addressing the gathering, said that Kupwara is famous all over the world for its natural beauty and intellect of the people, who are the true assets for the district. He hoped that Kupwara will be among the top districts of the country for its abundant scenic splendor.
Dr. Abdi Rasheed congratulated the district administration for achieving all the four goals of VBSY with grand success. He urged upon people to co-operate with the district administration and play an active role in effective implementation of all schemes of the government.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, in her welcome address, said that VBSY aimed to ensure that every citizen benefits from government flagship schemes. She congratulated officers, field functionaries and PRIs for successfully organizing VBSY in all 385 Panchayat and 39 Municipal wards of the district.
“We got new ideas and valuable inputs from the ground during the VBSY which will be implemented in future”. DC maintained.Vice Chairman, District Development Council Kupwara, Haji Farooq Ahmad Mir, expressed gratitude to the Secretary for promoting Lolab and getting it declared as the best offbeat tourist destination in the country.
He demanded conduct of a winter tourism festival in Lolab which is famous for its natural beauty, rich culture and heritage. He emphasised Kupwara is unique in terms of its potential for border tourism which needs to be tapped .The event witnessed screening of Prime Minister's message played through the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) van.
As part of the Viksit Bharat pledge, the participants reaffirmed their commitment towards the nation's development. The 'Meri Kahani Meri Zubaani' segment showcased beneficiaries sharing success stories of schemes like PMAY(U), PMEGP, schemes of Agriculture Department. The programme was followed by a beautiful cultural performance by the students of local schools and local artists.
On the occasion, different government departments had established stalls to showcase their products and services. Secretary Tourism along with Deputy Commissioner Kupwara and Vice Chairman, District Development Council inspected the stalls, interacted with the officers besides getting feedback on government schemes and participating in a plantation drive.