Governor N.N. Vohra and First Lady Usha Vohra participated in the prize distribution ceremony of Qirat, Naat, Qaw’wali competitions organized by the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) in collaboration with Directorate of School Education, at the Tagore Hall here today.

 Governor complimented Dr. Aziz Hajini, Secretary JKAACL, for his commendable effort in organizing such an inspiring competition in which nearly 1500 schools competed in the categories of Qirat, Naat and Qaw’wali, throughout the holy month of Ramadan. He urged the Academy to keep up its efforts to discover and groom the talented youth, of whom there is no dearth.

Lauding the performances of the children, Governor observed that the youth of J&K has proved its mettle in every arena, be it excelling in the All India Services, Sports, Theatre, Literature or Art and stressed that it is our collective responsibility to provide them avenues for their all round personality development on a sustained basis. He cautioned that we should remain ever vigilant and negate all efforts which are intended to vitiate the impressionable minds of our youth and create obstacles in the smooth functioning of our school, colleges and Universities.

 Urging the educational institutions of the State to create a conducive atmosphere for nurturing co-curricular activities within their precincts, Governor appreciated that in their endeavour to promote such activities, the Vice Chancellors’ Forum of the State Universities has started the Annual Inter University Sports Championship and more than 700 sports persons from all over the State participated in the first such Championship which was held in the University of Jammu. He wished that more such competitions are organised regularly in all regions of the State.

Governor presented the 1st, 2nd, 3rd prizes to District Srinagar, Bandipora and Budgam of Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 50,000 respectively and 3 consolation prizes of Rs. 10,000 each  for Qawwali competition; three prizes of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3000, and Rs. 2000 and certificates  to the winners in Qirat competition, three prizes of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3000, and Rs. 2000 and certificates  in the Naat competition.

Zahidul Islam, adjudged best in the provincial level Qirat competition did Tilawat of Quaran-e-Sharif and Amir-ul-Islam, adjudged best in the provincial level Naat competition gave a Naat performance at the function. Qaw’walis were presented by the first three winner groups who emerged as the best at the provincial level competition.

Prof. Mehraj-ud-Din, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir, spoke about the significance of imbuing youth with sound moral, religious and cultural values.

Dr.Aziz Hajini, Secretary, JKAACL presented the Welcome Address and Dr. Ghulam Nabi Itoo, Director School Education gave the Vote of Thanks.

Guest