In Kashmir, skiing not a rich man’s game anymore

Srinagar, Jan 03:  Imagine a skier from a government school giving a tough time to his privileged competitor in the Gulmarg alps!

Jammu and Kashmir government has embarked on an ambitious mission to train underprivileged students in skiing in a bid to abolish the `elite’ concept in sports.

More than 600 boys and girls from government schools will be trained in skiing free of cost so that they can compete in major tournaments.

The main aim is to create an ecosystem where equal opportunities are available for both privileged and underprivileged classes of society.

“We have started skiing courses for government school students of all 20 districts.  The certificate course will be held for students phase-wise. In the first phase, students from five districts each of Kashmir and Jammu will be trained. Each group will comprise 100 students and they will be trained for three weeks,” Sarmad Hafiz, Secretary, Tourism Department, told The Kashmir Monitor.

Situated at an altitude of 2650 meters, Gulmarg is famous for its lush green meadows and world-class Alps which is the biggest draw for skiers during winter. The resort is also home to Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak. The USP of the resort has one of the world’s highest ropeways known as Gulmarg Gandola which ascends from 2650 meters to a height of 3980 meters.

Normally, kids from elite schools have the luxury to ski in Gulmarg. Plus kids in and around Gulmarg, Srinagar, and Baramulla too take a shot at skiing during winter vacation. Since skiing is an expensive game, most of the students from the underprivileged class are unable to ski.

“For instance, people living in Anantnag, Kulgam, Kathua, Poonch, and others do not have exposure to skiing. Kids living in and around Tangmarg and Gulmarg are better acquainted with skiing. We want to expose kids from other districts to this game. This will help our kids to compete,” said Sarmad.

The government will bear all the expenses for the training, boarding, lodging, and other logistics. “It will be free of cost. We will bear all the expenses. A group has already reached Gulmarg for training. This will be a permanent feature,” said Sarmad.

A recent survey by the Ministry of Education has revealed that the post-pandemic roll of students in government-run schools has increased in Jammu and Kashmir.  This is primarily because of the economic downturn. People belonging to economically disadvantaged backgrounds of society have been hit hard due to the lockdown.

 Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) survey has revealed that the total enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir schools (1-12th standard) has increased to 1324301 students including 896848 students at the elementary level (1-8th), 200843 students at the secondary level (8-10th) and 226610 students at the higher secondary level (10-12th).