Report by:Mir Arif

Rafiabad:In an attempt to strike a chord with the local population and promote youth towards sports,peace harmony and healthy lifestyle the 32 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion organized ‘Village Games Festival 2021’.

32 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) organized a village games festival 2021 at Duniwar in the border area of Rafiabad in North Kashmir.

This village games festival was organized for the people of Pazalpora,Duniwar,Hamam Markoot,Pakhwara ,Zethan and other villages to bring together people of all ages and promote a healthy way of living. The festival witnessed the huge turnout of local Kashmiris along with Village Panches, Sarpanchs and even Ex-Servicemen also took part in the event.

“Today we organised this event to bring together people of all ages. In this far flung area we organised this event which has a lot of village games in it. These allow games which have become a thing of past. We are reviving game like ‘Log Cutting and Kabaddi’ as part of the festival” told an army official while talking to Greater Now.

“Now in this Covid-19 pandemic, physical activities should become an essential part of the daily routine. With the aim to promote healthy lifestyle, we have organised these village games,” he added.

Village games like ‘Kho-Kho’, ‘Kabaddi’, ‘Log Cutting,’ Volleyball, and ‘ Gilli Danda were organised for the youth of the villages and the elderly people.

The local visitors and many participating players appreciated this step taken by the Army’s 32 RR. The musical shows set the right pace for the event in which many local boys and girls mesmerized the audience with their soulful voices.

• Mansoor Ahmad, Sarpanch, who was seen enjoying the village games said: “This is a very good programme. This programme which has been organised by the Army and in future, we would love to see such a programme with greater frequency.”

Meheera Jan, a Kho-Kho player who participated in the games expressed gratitude to the Army’s 32 RR for taking this initiative to usher their talent.

“I am a Kho-Kho player. We have come here to participate in games. I have been given this platform by the Army’s 32 RR I am also thankful to the Army.Army has provided us with the stage to showcase our talent. Today, I am here because of the Indian Army.

In the end, winners were awarded with prizes and Army officers assured the local populace that the Indian Army will always be readily available for them in all good and odd times.