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Published: 28 October 2015

JAMMU: School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Jammu today celebrated Jashn-E-Riyasat featuring series of activities.  The event was organized as an effort to create cultural awareness through tourism.   The day long celebrations witnessed a series of competitive events including “Darpan e Riyasat” – A documentary Competition, “Innovation and You” – A fireless cooking competition and “Melange” – A cultural extravaganza. Various teams from University of Jammu, Central University of Jammu and affiliated colleges of University of Jammu participated in the events.

Prof. R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu was the Chief Guest during the prize distribution function and Dr. Pawan Kotwal, IAS, Divisional Commissioner was the guest of honour. The function was attended by over 500 NCC Cadets participating in National Integration Camp and also students, scholars, university officials, faculty members and members from civil society.

During the function, students of SHTM performed various cultural dances and skit representing the culture of J&K. Prof. R D Sharma in his address said that tourism plays a critical role in the economic development and also helps in poverty alleviation. He said that Jammu & Kashmir has rich and diverse cultural heritage which encompasses various lifestyles thereby leading to rich legacy. He appreciated the initiative of the School and congratulated the students for putting up an impressive show in front of national level audience.

Dr. Pawan Kotwal in his address emphasized that Jammu is being positioned as an independent tourism destination as it has a rich cultural heritage. He said that policy makers should collaborate with academia in identifying solutions to various issues and challenges in tourism sector.  Prof. Keshav Sharma, Registrar, University of Jammu and Dean, Faculty of Business Studies in his address said that it is important to showcase the culture and heritage and University can play a catalytic role in this regard. He appreciated the efforts of the School in bringing together students in a competitive format to promote culture through tourism.

Earlier Professor Parikshat Singh Manhas, Director, SHTM in his welcome address said that the School through this youth oriented function attempts to bring together the creative talent of the students in promoting tourism. He said that the industry is in dire need of professional tourism entrepreneurs and various programmes of the School aim at building various competencies required in the hospitality and tourism sector.

Sh. S M Sahni, Convener, INTACH, Jammu Chapter; Sh V K Sehgal, Founder Chairman, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh Tourism Promotion Council; Sh. Pawandeep Singh Mehta, Tourism Entrepreneur were the judges for Darpan-e-Riyasat. Chef Jaswinder Singh, Assistant Professor, UIHMT, Panjab University Chandigarh; Mr. Naresh Dabral, Executive Chef, Hotel Asia; Mr. Ravi Kumar Thakur, Restaurant General Manager, KFC were the judges for Innovation and You. The team from ICccR & HRM comprising of Kunal Jain, Shivam Mahajan, Agni Tikoo and Anurag Sharma won the first prize followed by the team from SPMR College of Commerce and SHTM, University of Jammu in Darpan e Riyasat. Their documentary highlighted various issues confronting the tourism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The team of Central University of Jammu comprising of Ashna Mahajan and Himani Gupta won the first prize followed by SPMR College of Commerce and SHTM, University of Jammu in Innovation and You.

Dr. Suvidha Khanna, Assistant Professor and Organizing Secretary conducted the proceedings of the function. Dr. Anil Gupta, Event Deputy Coordinator proposed the formal vote of thanks. The Jashn - E - Riyasat function which was spread over three days was coordinated by the faculty members Dr. Deepika Gupta, Ms. Akshi Bhagat, Mr. Manik Arora, Ms. Sandeeva Khajuria, Ms. Parvinder Kaur, Chef Gaurav Sharma, Chef Nikhil Charak as well Dr. Suvidha Khanna -Organizing Secretary and Dr. Anil Gupta - Event Deputy Coordinator of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management under the guidance of Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, Director of the Department.