State accords priority for promotion of sports, says Udhayanidhi Stalin

Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin prioritizes building a healthy society through sports infrastructure, promoting sports in Tamil Nadu.

Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday said that the DMK government accorded top priority to build a healthy society.

Speaking at a function held here to distribute sports kits to the villages and beneficiaries in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts, he said that the Kalaigner Sports Kit Scheme was aimed at creating sports infrastructure in village level. It would help the people, mainly youths, in rural areas to engage in sports. Moreover, sports kits including badminton racquets, glovers, cricket bats, volleyball nets, carom boards and others had been given to all villages in the State. In Tiruchi district, sports equipment were given to all 404 revenue villages. They would come in handy for the people living in villages to take up the sports they were interested in. It would ultimately lead the rural populace to be healthy on all aspects. The people, particularly in rural areas, should come forward to take up any sport.

M. Udayanidhi said that the State had been a frontrunner in sports. A total of 16 players from the State had gone to France to participate in the Olympics. A sum of ₹1.12 crore was distributed to them for supporting their participation. A number of schemes were being implemented in the State to promote sports. “The Hindu Sportstar magazine had recognised Tamil Nadu as the ‘Best State for the Promotion of Sports’ award. It was a testimony that the DMK government was taking all possible steps not only to promote sports but also to build a health society,” he added.

Earlier, Mr. Udhayanidhi inspected the progress of building the Integrated Bus Terminus at Panjapur. He was accompanied by Minister for Municipal Administration K. N. Nehru, Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Director of Municipal Administration S. Sivarasu, Collector M. Pradeep Kumar, Corporation Commissioner V. Saravanan and others. Mr. Udhayanidhi asked the officials to expedite the construction work to open the bus terminus as early as possible. He also visited Suriyur to inspect the site for the proposed Olympic Academy in Tiruchi.