STATE TIMES NEWS
KISHTWAR: A two day maiden ‘Sinthan Festival’ was inaugurated on Saturday at Sinthan Maidan Kishtwar by the Department of Tourism, J&K in collaboration with District Administration Kishtwar, Indian Army and J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
The two Day Mega Cultural cum Adventure extravaganza was inaugurated by DDC Chairperson, Kishtwar, Pooja Thakur and Deputy Commissioner, Devansh Yadav , Secretary J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Bharat Singh Manhas and Joint Director Tourism Jammu, Sunaina Sharma Mehta .
The first day of the festivities witnessed Padri Folk performance, Live singing performances by Samridhi Sen, Shoaib Kandoo, Wasim Malik and other local singers besides mesmerizing dance performances by local artists and performers.
Star performer Zahida Tarannum, Nikhil Manjotra, Aditya Rao also enthralled the audiences with their melodious singing presentations.
In their scintillating performances, College students exhibited their talent with enthusiasm and passion at the mega ‘Inter-College Group Dance Competition’ held at the maiden ‘Sinthan Festival’.
A Bike Rally was also organized during the event which was flagged off from Jammu and culminated at Sinthan Maidan Kishtwar. ‘Kishtwar Calender’ and ‘Kishtwar Gift Box’ were also unveiled by the dignitaries present at the event.
On the second day of the event, Finale of First ever ‘Kishtwar Idol’ shall be held along with live singing performances by Waqar Khan, Shubham Shiva and others.
During the two day festivities, many snow based activities have also been planned which are being organized at Sinthan Top. Snow Skiing, Snow Rafting, Snow Scooter rides, Tug-of-War and many snow based fun activities shall be organized during the Two Day ‘Sinthan Festival’.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar said that Kishtwar has immense tourism potential which needs to be tapped. He requested the tourism department to organize more such events in future which shall bring the hidden Marvels of the region on the tourism map.
Addressing the august gathering, Joint Director Tourism Jammu, Sunaina Sharma elaborated the tourism initiatives undertaken by the Directorate of Tourism Jammu to promote offbeat tourist destinations of Jammu Division. She added that the focus of the department is to promote offbeat Destinations of the region alongside rural, film and adventure tourism so that local livelihood opportunities can be tapped well. While highlighting the flagship scheme of homestays, she reiterated that such schemes are beneficial for the common masses and they should avail them. She also flagged off the first ever Paragliding trials at Sinthan, along with Deputy Director Tourism (Adventure & Publicity) Sh. Abdul Jabbar.
Also present on the occasion were Vimarsh Aryan (IFS), Inderjeet Parihar Additional DC Kishtwar/CEO Kishtwar Development Authority and other officials of the Tourism Department and District Administration.