Snow sculpting competition in Gulmarg
In a first, a four-day snow sculpting competition was held in the world famous ski resort of Gulmarg to provide a platform to the budding artists to showcase their talent on the snow. In the competition, over 30 artists, both amateur and professional sculptures, participated. The participants competed in teams and also as individuals to hand carve unique art works on themes depicting Kashmir culture, heritage, life and nature. Director of Tourism, Nisar Ahmad Wani said, “We are also planning to develop an ice park and promote this tourism product in a big way.”
Tricolour to be hoisted on govt buildings on R-Day
The UT administration in J&K has made it mandatory to hoist the Tricolour atop all government offices and buildings on Republic Day. An order issued by the additional secretary to government, Rohit Sharma, said, “It is impressed upon all the administrative secretaries/divisional commissioners/deputy commissioners/heads of the departments and managing directors of all PSUs/corporations to ensure that Tricolor is flown on all government offices and buildings across Jammu and Kashmir on Republic Day. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will preside over the main R-Day function at Maulana Azad Stadium, Jammu. In a separate order, the government has asked officials of government departments to attend the function as a part of their official duty.
Schools to reopen from February 1
The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered reopening of schools in the Union Territory in a phased manner from February 1. According to an official order, classes from 9 to 12 in Jammu region will open from February 1 while the elementary classes in the region will start from February 8. The schools in Kashmir region and winter zone areas of Jammu division, which are observing winter vacation, will open after the completion of winter vacation. All schools in J&K were closed in March 2020 after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
Kashmir’s youngest commercial pilot
At 20, Farhan Majeed has become the youngest commercial pilot in Kashmir. Hailing from Awantipora area of Pulwama district, Farhan recently obtained a commercial pilot’s license from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). He started training as a commercial pilot at the Uttarakhand-based ‘Global Konnect Aviation Services’ in 2018 after passing his class 12 exams. Farhan says he was fascinated by aircraft since his childhood and it was his dream to become a pilot. Farhan belongs to an educated family. His father is a mathematics lecturer while his mother is also a teacher. Farhan is now waiting to fly high.