Hosting Khelo India National Winter Games is a challenge: GDA CEO Ghulam Jeelani Zargar

The CEO advised tourists visiting Gulmarg not to go off-road and stay away from avalanche-prone areas in view of the continuous snowfall for the past two days.

Gulmarg (J&K): The third edition of Khelo India National Winter Games in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg kickstarted with great enthusiasm on February 11 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring it open. The National Winter Games are scheduled till February 14, stretching for 4 days. Over 1,500 athletes across 29 states and Union Territories are slated to be participating in the grand event.

With 11 sports disciplines and huge arrangements, ETV Bharat spoke to Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) CEO Ghulam Jeelani Zargar. He talked about the challenges that the Jammu & Kashmir administration faced while conducting the sports event. The Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) CEO said that maintaining the Tangmarg-Gulmarg road has always been a challenge. "We have been bestowed with the responsibility to organise a national event like Khelo India and whenever you host such a big event, there are always some challenges," he said.

He added that GDA always received good support from the Central and district administration. He said that to make Khelo India a success, we held various important meetings involving the top officials in the Valley for their inputs. "We coordinated with different overlapping departments to make the event a grand success, " he quipped.

Due to snowfall in Gulmarg, the Tangmarg-Gulmarg road has become slippery, posing a challenge for the tourists, participants and locals here. But, with the help of the Tangmarg police, road and safety arrangements have been provided. Thanking the Tangmarg police, he said that the GDA is grateful for their assistance.

Despite continuous snowfall, the management kept the roads clear. Snow-clearing machines were deployed to facilitate road connectivity in the Valley. About the two skiers, who died due to an avalanche, the CEO said, "We have arranged for a medical camp and ambulance services have also been kept ready for any unforeseen incident. However, the death of two foreign skiers was unfortunate."

Asked about the postponement of some Khelo India events, the CEO said that in Kongdori, some events were postponed due to strong winds. "Weather conditions were such that we could not allow Winter Games to be held. However, the rest of the events were conducted on time, he said. The CEO further advised tourists visiting Gulmarg not to go off-road and stay away from avalanche-prone areas.