Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today sought an action plan from the departments concerned on the National Games to be held in the state in 2018, saying the opportunity should be utilised to build sports infrastructure in a big way and promote sports activities among the youth.
At a high level meeting with state sports minister Dinesh Aggrawal, Uttarakhand Olympic Association chief Rajiv Mehta and senior officials of the departments concerned, the chief minister said work on the construction of stadiums in Dehradun, Haldwani, Munsiyari and Pauri should be expedited and they should be built in a such a way that all national level games can be held there conveniently.
Land for constructing games villages in Dehradun and Haldwani should soon be identified besides initiating the process of selecting an implementing agency and appointment of consultants for the purpose of building infrastructure for the games, he said.
The Chief Minister also asked the officials to soon convene a meeting of former games participants, coaches and sports federations to seek their opinion on how to go about preparations for the games.
Games competitions can be held at block, district and state levels across Uttarakhand over the next couple of years to prepare sportspersons from the state for the National Games, he said.
State sports minister Dinesh Aggrawal said a team of officials will be sent to Kerala where National Games are being held this year to see what things need to be done in Uttarakhand in the run-up to 2018 National Games.
