Sports library cum archive of Silchar DSA inaugurated

Silchar, Oct 24: In a major development towards preserving the rich history of sports activities of Barak Valley and for the whole of the state and even North East at large, a state of the art sports library cum archive was inaugurated at the District Sports Association premises on Sunday.

Built in the memory of Sudhangshu Mohan Dutta, the sports library was inaugurated by Alo Dutta, the former's wife and his son and eminent sports enthusiast Sibabrata Dutta in the presence of Subodh Malla Barua, president of Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) and also the president of Assam Sports Journalists Association (ASJA) who was the keynote speaker on the occasion.

In his address on Sports in Assam, Barak Valley, in particular, Barua hailed the efforts of the DSA Silchar and said "I am elated to be a part of such an occasion at the DSA Silchar which is growing with great enthusiasm. A place that has a rich and glorious history that goes back to 1909 when Captain Nalini Mohan Gupta had been to Kolkata Football League. India Club here has a history of over 100 years. For all these glorious facets of history, I feel Silchar should be well and truly  termed as the sports town of Assam." He handed over a book  authored by him to the DSA authorities which would be kept at the sports library.  

The ASJA president also interacted with members of the Barak Upotyokta Krira Sangbadik Sanstha ( BUKSS)  at the office premises of the sports scribes body and shared his experiences with the scribes appreciating their activities as well.

Sharing happiness on being able to extend contributions for the growth of the DSA, Sibabrata Dutta said that the development of better infrastructure will motivate youths to take up sports as a career and hoped that some of the potential talents can represent India from here. He said that the sports library and archive shall be a great help for the coming generation to look back into the history of the sports of this region.

Bijendra Prasad Singh, general secretary of the sports association said that while the signed bats from the historic Sunil-Walson cricket match or trophies and articles from other major sports events were kept haphazardly in the stadium. "The thought of arranging a place for the signed bats and other trophies along with some books and pieces of literature on sports in the form of a library which will strike interest for the sports enthusiasts and researchers crossed my mind and we thought of coming up with an archive as well. I thank Sibabrata Dutta and his family for responding to our request and we hope that the initiative will be beneficial for the people of this valley and across the state as well," Singh maintained. He was quick to inform that soon, the Sports association will form a fund for the development of the associated clubs and development of the fields of the clubs as well.

DSA president Babul Hore expressed his happiness and said that people of the valley who are passionate about sports will richly benefit from this library.