STATE TIMES NEWS
KATRA: The nine day long All India Devotional Song Competition in the holy town of Katra came to musical conclusion on Tuesday evening wherein Meenu Atwal from Punjab, bagged the prestigious first prize in the Mega Finale.
The All India Devotional Song Competition was jointly organized by SMVD Shrine Board, Department of J&K Tourism, PTC Punjabi Gold in association with Patanjali Dantkanti and co sponsored by Monalisa Fashion and Wedding Stores, Lia Agarbatti ,J&K Bank, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Super Speciality Hospital, Nideesh Builders Pvt. Ltd. Jammu, Yog Ashram Trust with active support of District Administration Reasi and the local host Community with 92.7 Big FM as its Radio Partner .
The function concluded amidst chanting of Bhajans, beating of drums and firing of crackers at Yog Ashram Complex last Night.
Rajeev Salotra from Jammu bagged Second Position and 3rd position went to Sukhjinder from Amritsar in the Devotional Song competition among the 7 candidates who reached to the mega final.
In the first round, Meenu Atwal from Punjab, Sukhjinder from Punjab, Rajeev Salotra from Jammu and Lalit Bhardwaj from Jammu qualified for 2nd round and after the completion of 2nd round, Meenu Atwal emerged winner, while Rajeev Salotra and Sukhjinder were declared as first and second runners up, respectively on the basis of the points scored.
Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Babila Rakwal was the Chief Guest on the occasion, while noted Bollywood and media personalities including Managing Director Venus Entertainment and Film maker, Ganesh Jain; Film maker Gordhan Tanwani; film maker Rishi Raj; film maker and Film Trade analyst Kumar Mohan; Famous bollywood singers Shanker Sawhney and Amrinder Bobby, Vice President Zee Network Barkha Arora, CL Verma and Dr. Surinder were the judges of the mega final.
Chief Guest Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Babila Rakwal, film and media personalities, Director Land Surveys J&K Bhawani Rakwal, Joint Director Tourism Sunaina Sharma Mehta,Addl. Deputy Commissioner, Reasi Abdul Satttar, Addl.SP Katra Amit Bhasin, SDM Katra Angrez Singh, Chairman Devotional Song Committee & President Hotel Association Rakesh Wazir, gave away prize worth Rs.3 lakh in the shape of gold to the first prize winner Meenu Atwal, she also got recording contract with Venus Entertainment, while Gold worth Rs 1 lakh was given to 2nd position holder Rajeev Salotra and Gold worth Rs 50,000 to third position holder Sukhjinder.
SDM Katra Angrez Singh, Captain Murthy, Yog Acharya Swami Yoga Nand ji Maharaj,Sardar Lal Dubey, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Subhash Chander, Gopal Singh etc were also present.
The Chief Guest, Babila Rakwal, while speaking on the occasion, said that this competition has attained new heights and popularity over the years. She complimented the organizers and thanked all the people and organizations for extending their cooperation in making it a grand success. She extended special thanks to the people from the film and media fraternity, who make it a point to come over here and support it.
Joint Director Tourism Jammu, Sunaina Sharma Mehta, while speaking on the occasion, said that leaving aside providing a platform to the singers, the live telecast of the event all over the world has given vast publicity to the event and Tourism of J&K and Jammu region in particular. “I feel that with this event we have been able to convince the people to come to J&K and see the places of Tourist interest around Katra, especially in Jammu Region” she added.
Rakesh Wazir, Chairman of the All India Devotional Competition and President Hotel & Restaurant Association, Katra compared the proceedings of the programme in a magnificent way.
Renowned Bollywood Singers Shanker Sawhney, known for his Maha Marantugya Manter, which has got record 35 crore views, Amrinder Bobby who is known for his famous songs like Botiyein ti Cha they bich kal tu bhi jayengi etc. and Former Winners of Competition Naveen Punjabi and Ravi Kumar, who were special invitees on the occasion, captivated the audience with their melodic performances, filling the environment of the venue with spiritual ambiance.
