Former Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai has urged the Union Government and the State Government to launch a special drive to identify rural talents and provide them adequate infrastructural and financial assistance for their all-around development.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on ‘sports for development of nation’, jointly organised by the Indus Valley Times and the Kalinga Sports, Ghadai said sportspersons were earning laurels at national and international levels because of the consistent efforts made by Government and private agencies.
Eminent sportsperson and 100-m hurdles queen of yesteryear Anuradha Biswal said India’s sportspersons were doing excellently well at international level because of greater sports activities.
JK Papers general manager Prafulla Kumar Dhal said sports channelises the youth energy into productivity. Noted social activist Dr Gourang Charan Rout stressed on expansion of sports network in tribal and backward areas.
Four eminent persons, M Behera, Soudamini Chhatria, Asutosh Meher and Sudam Patra, were felicitated for their contributions to the fields of healthcare, education, industrialisation and journalism, respectively.