‘Commendable initiative’
Rajesh Dhar
JAMMU, Feb 7: The state of Jammu and Kashmir is striving hard to create a niche in the field of sports by raising sufficient infrastructure, helping sportspersons to flourish at the higher levels. In that direction, a proposed ‘Khel Gaon’ Nagrota at around 170 Kanals of land is unquestionably a commendable initiative by the State Government and simply a complete package for the sportspersons in Jammu.
The foundation stone on this proposed sports facility was laid a few days back by the Advisor to the Governor, K Vijay Kumar in the presence of former MLA Devender Singh Rana, DGP Dilbag Singh, Commissioner Secretary PDD Hirdesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, IGP Jammu MK Sinha, IGP Armed Danish Rana, Secretary YS&S Sarmad Hafeez, MD JKPCC M Raju and Director General YS &S Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman, who will be the supervising authority for the project.
It may be recalled that the foundation stone for the Shooting Range of this proposed mega sporting facility was laid way back by the then Director General YS & Sports PS Gill in 2009-10 during his tenure as DG Sports. However, after that the work on the development of Shooting Range (Khel Gaon was not a proposal then) was on a snail’s pace and it is only because of the initiative of the Governor Satya Pal Malik and his Advisors that it is not only the Shooting Range but the entire ‘Khel Gaon’ to be developed at this site soon.
According to the reliable sources and the Site Plan of ‘Khel Gaon’, one gets a feeling that it will cater to the needs of thousands of sportspersons in various disciplines of sports.
The sports disciplines it covers include Shooting, Basketball, Volleyball, Gymnastics, Badminton, Football, Table Tennis, Hockey, Cricket, Kho-Kho, Boxing, Swimming, Wrestling, Skating, Judo etc. The facility will also include Office, Conference Hall, Wash Rooms and Change Rooms etc.
“It is a very visionary and progressive initiative and this model should be replicated in all the districts in due course of time. It is heartening to see that sports promotion and building of new sports infrastructure is a priority area for the Governor’s Administration,” said Ranjeet Kalra, ace sports administrator of J&K and presently the Advisor for Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Lakshadweep.
The Site Plan further shows that the facility for all the disciplines is to be developed with standard dimensions to help the young sportspersons hone their skill in a proper way.
“It will almost be a complete package for training the budding sportspersons in various sports disciplines. Moreover, it is on the bank of River Tawi, hence development of a Rafting Centre is also a possibility,” said Ashok Kumar, the then Deputy Director Sports when the foundation stone on Shooting Range was laid earlier.
“The Governor and the Advisors are serving the sportspersons of the State as beacon lights and guiding and goading them to blossom at the higher levels by providing sufficient and requisite sports infrastructure,” said Arun Malhotra, ace footballer of the State while expressing satisfaction over the proposal of ‘Khel Gaon’ Nagrota.
“Some of the outstanding sportspersons of the State have already carved a space on the country’s sports map. Now, this great initiative of raising infrastructural facilities by the Government will attract more and more youth towards sports and games,” said a SAI coach.
Now, the need of the hour is the completion of this mega project at an earliest.
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