![Participants of Mr J&K Contest posing for photograph with Raman Bhalla, Rajesh Dutta and others at Jammu on Thursday. Participants of Mr J&K Contest posing for photograph with Raman Bhalla, Rajesh Dutta and others at Jammu on Thursday.](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/page14-25.jpg)
*Bhalla asks youth to stay away from drugs
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 9: In run up for Mr J&K Contest, which is scheduled to be held on June 11 at police auditorium under the aegis of Body Building Association, J&K (BBAJK), the weighing of participants in different categories for the final event was held at International Gym, Rehari, followed by anti-drug rally. This theme for this year competition is “Say No To Drugs, Stay Healthy’.
After the weighing event, the participants and organizers assembled at Bahu Plaza this evening and moved towards Trikuta Nagar park in the shape of a rally.
The decision to hold the Mr J&K Contest and the rally against the rise in illegal trade of drugs and their consumption by youth was taken in the general body meeting of BBAJK last month. The meeting, among others, was attended by its Chief Patron and Ex-Minister Raman Bhalla, general secretary Rajesh Dutta, vice-presidents Mahesh Sharma, secretary Naresh Gupta, BS Tirthi and Bharat Bhushan.
Speaking on the occasion, Raman Bhalla said there could be no platform other than the BBAJK to spread a message among the youth against the use of drugs. He called upon the youth to say no to drugs and stay healthy.
Adding further, he said that sport plays a primarily positive role in youth development, including improved academic achievement, higher self-esteem and fewer behavioral problems. “Sport provides opportunities for children and youth to engage in valuable and positive relationships with adults, which is especially important when such benefits are not available at home. Thus, it is a missed opportunity for children who are ‘gated’ or not included in sport during early stages of childhood because they are less well behaved than other children”, Bhalla said.
He added that sport provides an opportunity for children to safely navigate and negotiate between right and wrong as they learn to interact with peers and adults. Young males involved in multiple sports seem to garner even more protection in this regard, he said.
Rajesh Dutta, General Secretary, who is also a renowned body builder of the State, said that in Mr J&K Contest on June 11, body builders from all the district of J&K will participate.
“We take pride in announcing that we are holding Mr J&K Contest for the 12th consecutive year. During these 12 years of our service to youth, we have been able to produce some very good body builders, who had brought laurels to the state by winning medals at national and international levels. We are also spreading the message of ill-effects of drugs among the youth in silent and sustained manner”, Dutta maintained.
He informed that apart from some noted personalities from J&K, Mr Universe, Arjuna Awardee and Padamshri Prem Chand Degre of Hoshiarpur, Punjab had also given his consent to grace the occasion.