Aimed at to encourage youth towards promoting tourism activities, Government Polytechnic College Bandipora today celebrated World Tourism Day.

Principal Secretary, Skill Development Department (SDD), Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Dr Samoon, while addressing on the occasion, said that Bandipora possesses vast potential and scope for border and adventure tourism thus offering numerous opportunities to trekkers from across the world to satiate their aspirations. He exhorted upon all stakeholders to contribute towards making Bandipora the most tempting tourist destination in the Valley.

He urged upon the youth to focus on opportunities in the tourism sector and invest there as this vital sector plays a significant role in region’s economy. “The present administration is committed towards handholding of youth in their fields”, said the Principal Secretary while exhorting youth to take benefit from various Youth Oriented schemes. He said that the government has launched numerous initiatives towards taking the tourism profile of the UT to new highs. 

Dr. Samoon asked the Principal Polytechnic College to ensure 100 percent admission in the institute. He also directed the concerned to macadamize the approach road of Polytechnic College.

Principal Polytechnic College, Bandipora, Hakim Javid Ahmad, said that the motto of celebrating this day is to encourage students to participate in various extra curricular activities and showcase their talent for nurturing their personalities. He said the Institute has achieved various milestones as the students of Mechanical Engineering from Bandipora Polytechnic College have bagged top two positions in the entire UT of J&K in the recently declared results of final semester examinations.

He apprised that  five eligible girls of the institute have got fifty thousand rupees scholarship under Pragati and Saksham Scheme and more than 60 students got annual scholarship under different Schemes of various departments in the current year.

The event witnessed multilingual cultural performances by the students highlighting the importance of World Tourism Day. Besides, other speakers threw light on tourism potential of Bandipora district.

Later, Principal Secretary distributed certificates among meritorious pass outs of various courses and trades.

Director Skill Development,  Sudarshan Kumar, ADC Bandipora, Waseem Raja, Principal Government Degree College, Bandipora, Syed Vilayat Rizvi, officers from district administration and students participated in the event.