Kalaignar sports kit scheme meant to create champions in rural Tamil Nadu, says Udhayanidhi Stalin
The Hindu
Kalaignar Sports Kit scheme ensures rural sportspersons receive equal opportunities, with kits worth ₹86 crore distributed across Tamil Nadu villages.
The purpose behind implementing Kalaignar Sports Kit (KSK) scheme is to ensure that aspiring sportspersons in rural areas are provided equal opportunities to excel as their counterparts in cities, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has said.
Speaking at a function to distribute ‘Kalaignar Sports Kits’ to 688 panchayats in Villupuram, Mr. Udhayanidhi said the Sports Development Department was taking several measures through competitions and programmes to motivate more students and youth into sports. The purpose behind implementing Kalaignar Sports Kit (KSK) scheme is to ensure that aspiring sportspersons in villages are provided equal opportunities to excel as their counterparts in cities, he said.
The sports kits worth ₹86 crore, covering 33 games, are being provided to 12,620 village panchayats in the State, the Deputy Chief Minister said. “We are keen on bringing students not only from urban areas but also from rural areas. As a step towards achieving this dream, the Chief Minister Sports Trophy, which was conducted in the State, witnessed the participation of about 11.56 lakh players. Of them, about 5 lakh were women,” he said.
Every village panchayat in the State would benefit from the scheme, he said, adding that former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi himself possessed the characteristics of a sportsman.
Listing the schemes for welfare of sportspersons in the State, the Deputy Chief Minister said a sum of ₹12 crore was provided to 680 persons under the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation in the past two years.
He said cash incentives were given to winners at the national and international level through the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation, and sportspersons in need of funds could apply online at the portal www.sdat.tn.gov.in
Earlier, he inaugurated a bronze statue of DMK patriarch and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at Thiruvennainallur in Villupuram.
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