Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the ‘Sansad Khel Mahakumbh,’ which was started with inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, provided numerous opportunities to youths in rural areas.
Addressing a gathering during the inauguration of the second phase of Sansad Khel Mahakumbh 2022-23 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “A playground is being made by the government in 59,000 village panchayats of the state.”
The prime minister attended the programme through video conferencing.
Stating that the country and the world had seen a new India in the last eight years, the chief minister said that India had shown its might in every sphere of life. “India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has acquired the capability to lead the world and getting the presidency of G-20 is a part of that series,” the chief minister remarked.
The chief minister went on to say that no one ever noticed that one aspect of the sport was consistently neglected. “The Khelo India campaign was launched in the entire nation eight years ago with the prime minister’s inspiration and it has since spread to every village through the ‘Sansad Khel Mahakumbh’. This provided rural youth with a platform for sports in 2021 and an opportunity to progress. I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Member of Parliament Harish Dwivedi and his team for planning this Khel Mahakumbh's second phase.”
Maintaining that sports grounds were being built in 58,000 gram panchayats of UP, the chief minister said, “Of the 58,000 panchayats, land has been acquired in 34,000 gram panchayats for playgrounds. At the same time, 30 rural sports grounds have been constructed in Basti. In addition, sports kits are being made available to the players through Yuvak Mangal Dal and Mahila Mangal Dal in every revenue village, and children, youth, and adults are being made aware of various sports competitions.”
The chief minister said that work was being done by the state government to encourage the athletes who had won medals in the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and international competitions. “An amount of Rs 6 crore is being given to the athlete who gets a gold medal in the Olympics, Rs 3 crore to the silver medalist and Rs 1 crore to the player who gets the bronze medal,” he said.
Additionally, the state government gives Rs 10 lakh to the athletes competing in the Olympics. Similarly, for winning a gold, silver and bronze medal in the Asian Games, an amount of Rs 3 crore, Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore is given respectively. In Commonwealth Games and world championships, gold medalists are awarded Rs 1.5 crore while silver and bronze medalists get Rs 75 lakh Rs 50 lakh respectively, Chief Minister Yogi noted.
Furthermore, the chief minister said that the government had accelerated efforts to construct a stadium in all the districts of the state and mini-stadiums at the block level. "The concrete spirit of the prime minister's Khelo India campaign is now visible in its true form. Despite the COVID-19 era, this year we not only had the most players compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, but we also had the most medal winners. Every section of society is given a chance to showcase their talent through this,” he added.