Centre to launch sports promotion scheme in villages

New Delhi, Aug 4 (UNI) The Union Sports and Youth affairs Ministry proposes to implement a massive Rs 7,500-crore project for the promotion of sports among the youth in villages.

A sum of Rs 1,500 crore is proposed to be spent every year under the five-year scheme called "Panchayat Yuva Khel Abhiyan." This was communicated by Union Sports and Youth Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to Kerala Sports Minister M Vijayakumar when the latter called on him to present a memorandum seeking assistance from the centre to exploit the strength of his state in sports.

Mr Aiyar assured the minister to depute a team of officials from his ministry to Kerala to examine the demands raised by the state in the memorandum. The team would be led by Mr S Krishnan, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Sports.

In his memorandum, Mr Vijayakumar listed 15 demands, including revival of central grants for sports infrastructure which was stopped with effect from April 2005.

He sought financial assistance for re-launching of sports training programme "Operation Olympia," establishment of "Kalari Marma Chikilsalaya, launching of new central schemes for sports for all and launching of a new central scheme for promotion of traditional martial arts and indigenous sports of the state, among other things.

Expressing the state's desire to host an international level sports meet like SAF/AFro-Asian Games, he sought liberal financial assistance to upgrade the existing infrastructure and to create new facilities. In this context, he pointed out that the state government had already decided to host the national games during 2010 after a gap of nearly 22 years.

UNI SH DH RN2005