After inspecting the preparations being made for the Khelo India Youth Games at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that all preparations would be completed by December 31 for the successful conduct of the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula which is scheduled to be held from February 5 to 14, 2022.
As many as 25 different types of sports will be organised in this sports event, in which about 10000 players from across the country will participate. This opening ceremony will be held on February 5 at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector-3, Panchkula, he added.Talking to reporters, Khattar informed that 25 different sports would be organized under Khelo India Games. Besides this, five regional games have also been added this time, which include Gatka of Punjab, Thang-Ta of Manipur, Kalaripayattu of Kerala, Malkhamb of Maharashtra and Yogasan.
An amount of Rs 250 crore will be spent on the development of necessary infrastructure for these games, of which Rs 150 crore will be spent for infrastructure development and Rs 100 crore will be spent on other equipment and facilities. He said that all the preparations for the infrastructure being developed as per the requirement of all the sports would be completed by December 31. Entire arrangements are being made for the lodging and boarding, and transportation of the players.The CM said that along with Panchkula, these games would be organised in Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh and Delhi. He said that the final matches of most of the games will start from February 8, which will be telecast live through Star Sports channel.
Khattar said that Haryana is continuously progressing in sports and the state Government is increasing the budget of sports every year. Where the budget of sports was Rs 151 crore in the year 2014-15, it has now increased to Rs 94 crore in 2021-22, which is more than double.
He said that 500 sports nurseries, which were closed due to Covid-19, have been revived to nurture sports talent among the budding sportspersons since childhood under the State Government’s ‘Catch them Young’ Policy. In addition, 500 more sports nurseries will be developed.
The Chief Minister said that sports stadiums are being renovated at the village level. Besides this, mapping is also being done by the government and where the number of sports stadiums is less, sports stadiums will be built as per the requirement. He said that the players have also appreciated the initiative of the State Government to give an amount of Rs 5 lakh in advance for the preparation of Olympic players. Besides this, Haryana is the only state that not only in the country but also in the world, is known for giving the highest amount to the Olympic winners as a reward. He said that a Scientific Training and Rehabilitation Center is being set up in Panchkula to prepare the players mentally and physically for sports. Apart from this, such centres will also be set up in Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurugram. The Chief Minister said that on the occasion of Divyangjan Diwas, he has announced to set up a Divyang Sports Corner in one stadium in every district.
OMICRON VARIANT: HRY HEALTH DEPTT ON ALERT
In response to a question regarding compliance with the guidelines of Covid-19 during the Games, the Chief Minister said that compliance with the Pandemic guidelines would be ensured. He said that two cases of the new variant of the Covid-19 have just been detected in the country. The health department and all other departments are on alert and the health department is fully prepared to deal with any situation.