Central assistance will help nurture sporting talent: J&K CM

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the special assistance of Rs 200 crore from the Centre for development of sports infrastructure in the state would help nurture talent and rekindle desire amongst youth and children to excel in the ever-growing world of sports.
"The present government has restructured the sports' governing body and stressed upon incorporating games as an essential component of the educational curricula. With the money provided by the Centre, we will be able to instill a sporting culture and groom raw talent so that our playgrounds reverberate with sports activities where our boys and girls compete against each other," the Chief Minister said.

Sayeed was addressing a large gathering of school children after inaugurating the 61st National School Games in Football at Bakshi Stadium here.
As many as 29 teams and 500 school children from all over the country are participating in the week-long National Games.
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for IT, Youth Services and Sports and Technical Education, Imran Raza Ansari and Union Sports Secretary, Rajiv Yadav were also present on the occasion.
Stressing on the need for revival of sports, Sayeed highlighted the colossal damage suffered by sports-related infrastructure during the past two-and-a-half decades in the state.

"I have already ordered framing of a sports calendar for schools, college and district levels tournaments so that our sportspersons are provided the right platform to display their talent," he said, referring to the measures taken by the department to repair and renovate the playgrounds that were damaged in the floods last year.

Asserting that once the special package is released by the Union Government, the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar and MAM Stadium in Jammu will be upgraded to global standards so that national and international tournaments are held on a regular basis.
He, however, said the creation of sports facilities take time as it involves formulation of detailed project reports.

Referring to diversification of tourism-related activities in winter destinations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam, Sayeed urged young boys and girls to take up sports like skiing and skating, in which Jammu and Kashmir has excelled and won laurels at national at international levels.
"We have also great potential in water sports like canoeing and river rafting," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal promised adequate thrust on creating and upgrading infrastructure for which Rs 200 crore will be provided to the state.
He said with the augmentation of the sports-related infrastructure, he will look forward to Jammu and Kashmir contributing its talent to the national teams.