Fillip to sports in Pondy

Pondicherry, Sep 2 (UNI) The Pondicherry administration would create a directorate for sports seperating it from education department to give a fillip to sports activities in the union territory,education minister M O H F Shajahan said today.

Inaugurating a local cricket tournament near here, he said cricket stadium with international standards would come up here in a couple of years.

Later, participating in another function at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan here Mr Shajahan said in a bid to bring out the talents among rural students the administration would bifurcate the directorate of school eduation in urban and rural with seperate directors.

He said Pondicherry stood first in education among the small states in the country, thanks to the generosity shown by Chief Minister to the department.

He said the government would bear the educational expenses of the "Jawhar Bal Bhavan" students, who had won prizes and added Jawhar Bal Bhavans would be constructed in all communes here. A new building for the Jawhar Bal Bhavan at a cost of Rs.6.5 crore would be constructed and the land acquisition process was presently on.

UNI PAB VV AK1512