Sports lotttery to be launched on Nov 17

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14 (UNI) The Kerala government is trying to get sports legend Carl Lewis as the Brand Ambassador of the sports lottery to be launched on November 17, State Sports Minister M Vijayakumar said today.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said first round of talks in this regard had been made with Lewis and the government expected that he would agree to it.

Mr Vijayakumar said Lewis would reach Delhi on December 15 and in Kerala on December 18.

He said efforts were being made to get ace footballer Pele for promoting the lottery which was aimed at the development of sports in the state.

Funds raised through the lottery would be utilised to build sports infrastructure in towns and villages across the state, he added.

Besides Lewis and Pele, athlete Milka Singh would also promote the lottery, he said.

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan would formally launch the lottery here on November 17.

The government expected to mobilse Rs 100 crore through the lottery, which was considered the first such venture for sports promotion, State Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, who was also present, said.

He said about two crore tickets would be printed and the cost per ticket would be Rs 100.

The first prize would be Rs two crore and the draw would be held at Kozhikode on January 26 next year, he added.

All proceeds of the lottery, after deducting the prize amount and expenses, would go into a sports fund, which would disburse the money to the state's 1,000-odd local bodies to build and improve sports facilities and infrastructure, he said.

The local bodies as well as arts and sports clubs would also sell the tickets and receive a 27 per cent commission on sales.

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