Srinagar,March 12 (Scoop News)-The opening ceremony of 71st B.N. Mullik Memorial All India Police Football Championship was held at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar today. The event was declared open jointly by Director General of Police, J&K Shri Dilbag Singh and Director IB, New Delhi Shri Tapan Kumar Deka who is also the Chairman of All India Police Sports Control Board, New Delhi.
Commandant General HG/CD/SDRF J&K, Dr. B. Srinivas, Spl DG CID J&K, Shri R. R. Swain, Spl DG Crime J&K, Shri A. K. Choudhary, MD Police Housing/DG Prison Shri Deepak Kumar, ADsGP Shri SJM Gillani, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, Shri Mukesh Singh, Shri M.K Sinha, Shri Sunil Kumar and Shri Vijay Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer J&K Shri PK Pole, IGsP Shri Nitish Kumar, Shri B S Tuti, Shri M N Tiwari, Shri Vikramjeet Singh and, Secretary Youth Services & Sport, J&K, Shri Sarmad Hafeez, DIsG Shri Sujit Kumar, Shri Vivek Gupta, Ms Sarah Rizvi, Shri Imtiaz Ismail, Shri Shahid Mehraj, Shri Rakesh Bhalwal, SSP Srinagar, all JKAP/IRP Commandants of Kashmir and a large of sports enthusiast witnessed the opening ceremony function. Khadi & Village Chairperson Ms Hina Bhat, Mayor SMC Junaid Azam Matoo, DDC Chairperson Aftab Malik also graced the occasion.
Shri Tapan Kumar Deka addressing the function said that it is indeed a matter of great privilege for him to witness the opening ceremony of the championship , for which he expressed his gratitude to DGP J&K and the Organising Committee for the opportunity. He said that All India Police Sports Control Board organises 40 events in 18 clusters across the country in a year in which 13000 Policemen sportspersons participate adding that it is a matter of great satisfaction that popularity and participation of these events has witnessed an exponential increase and has provided a platform to excel the performances due to which many Policemen now have won medals at National and International levels. Paying tribute to the Shri B N Mullik, he said that this Football championship is named after him as he was a great dynamic leader and a visionary. Shri Tapan Kumar congratulated J&K Police for conducting the event in a befitting manner. He said that J&K Police has remained on the forefront in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country. He said that this platform provides opportunities to different forces to interact, to share experiences and to strengthen personal as well as professional bonding. He advised participants to play the game with sportsman spirit and wished them good luck.
DGP J&K, in his address, thanked Director IB for gracing the event and said that his presence in the opening ceremony has been a very encouraging factor for the participants. He said that Jammu and Kashmir Police has so far organised 14 events of this stature and this is the third occasion that All India Football Championship is being hosted by JK Police and before this, J&K Police has also hosted its 49th and 66th editions. HE further said that JK Police has organised events in almost every sports category including hockey, water sports, golf etc.
While welcoming all the participating teams of the event, DGP said that besides fighting for the title, this is a great opportunity for the players to see and enjoy the nature and culture of this beautiful valley. Underling the similarities of football and good policing, DGP said that power, discipline and control is common and important for both to achieve the desired results.
He said that J&K is progressing towards peace and prosperity adding that youth of JK has rejected the path of "goli and grenade" and are overwhelmingly participating in positive activities like sports and other cultural activities. He was, however, quick in cautioning the youth about the conspiracy of anti-peace elements and appealed them to remain beware of these conspirators whole only motto is to disturb peace in this beautiful valley.
Shri Singh said Jammu and Kashmir Police has been organising events across Jammu and Kashmir throughout the year and added that all events are witnessing huge participation. He said that a few days ago, a Marathon "Run for Peace" was organised in Jammu in which around 4000 people of different age groups participated and added that events like Pedal for Peace organised in Kashmir also witnessed massive participation. He informed that after the COVID period, around 70 thousand youth have participated in the event organized by J&K Police. He wished good luck to all the participating teams for the event.
In his welcome address ADGP Armed, J&K Shri SJM Gillani welcomed all the dignitaries for gracing the event and said that hosting this prestigious event is a proud moment for J&K Police. He informed that a record number of 42 teams from across the country are participating in the championship which includes 34 men and 8 women teams. He said that football is quite popular in J&K and to promote it further, J&K Police is going to organising a mega sports event every year in Srinagar adding that this year's championship witnessed participation of 41 teams.
Later speaking to the media, Director IB, Shri Tapan Kumar Deka said that teams from all over the country have come to participate in the championship and their spirit is very high. He said that all the visiting teams will come to know about J&K and its lovely people living in a peaceful environment adding that this event will help in spreading the message of peace and love. He said sports is the best way for community building and large scale participation of youth, like today, will strengthen it further. He congratulated DGP J&K and his team for organising this event and putting all the arrangements in a flawless manner.
DGP said that Pakistan and its agencies have always remained hell-bent in disrupting peace in Jammu and Kashmir as they are not happy with the peace and development here. He said that it is time to strengthen peace further in J&K and advised the people especially youth to foil all conspiracies of inimical elements. Referring to the target killing, DGP said that all the counter measures are in place to stop these attacks and also to hunt down remaining propagators of terrorism. He said that infiltration bids have been stopped to a large extent, adding that infiltration chances rise more when snow is melting and all the arrangements are in place to stop these attempts. He said that Pakistan is backing terrorism besides pushing narcotics, to raise funds for terror activities. However various modules have been busted and all investigation agencies including SIU, SIA along with NIA and Narcotics Control Bureau are working together to bust all such modules at every level especially those involving big cartels having interstate ramifications and connections. Referring to the property attachment, he said that only those are being attached who, after thorough investigation & probe, have been found involved in providing any kind of support to terrorism and added that action under law will be taken against all such persons.