2-day mega Cultural and Craft festival commences at Ramban

Ramban : A 2-day mega Cultural and Craft Festival commenced here Wednesday with a huge public participation in the inaugural session of the programme.
The festival was jointly inaugurated by the Chairperson, District Development Council, Ramban, Dr.Shamshad Shan and Deputy Commissioner, Mussarat Islam in presence of the DDC Councilors, BDC Chairpersons, Councilors of Municipal Council, PRIs and civil society members.
SSP, Mohita Sharma; ADDC Rajinder Sharma; ADC, HarbansLal Sharma; CEO PDA, Sher Singh; Additional Secretary, JKAACL, Sanjeev Raina; CPO, Dr.KasturiLal; Dy. DEO, Lal Chand and other senior officers of the district administration were also present.
The mega festival has been organized by the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) in collaboration with District Administration Ramban.
In his welcome address, Additional Secretary, JKAACL, SanjeevRana said that the objective of the festival was toshowcase the rich cultural ethos of Jammu & Kashmir, prominently focusing on promotion of the folk dance and music, art, culture and traditions.
The Additional Secretary said that such festivals also educate the youth about the significance of the culture and different forms of art. He further said that the local youth participating in the festival would be encouraged to perform at UT level andlearn the basics of theatre andart.
SanjeevRana also expressed gratitude to the District Administration especially to the Deputy Commissioner for his persistent guidance for organizing the programme in district Ramban with a view to promote the essence of culture and traditions of J&K among the youth.
As many as 150 renowned and budding artists from across Jammu & Kashmir are participating in the festival. On day one, a scintillating cultural programme featuring Pahari, Kashmiri, Dogri, Punjabi, Paddari music and dance, besides Sufi performance of ShafiSopoorileft the audience spellbound.
Earlier, the officers inspected the stalls of local crafts, cuisines and agro-products established by the different departments in the festival.