GUWAHATI, March 14 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today layed stress on developing rural talents in the field of sports and said that his government will encourage rural youths to take up sports as a profession.
�Unearthing the talent of the rural youth and catching them young in sports is the focus of my government,� said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at a cheque distribution function organised by Assam Olympic Association (AOA) at Assam Legislative Assembly conference hall here today.
Giving away cheques of Rs 1 lakh each to 30 State sports associations, Gogoi, who is also the president of AOA, said that his government has all along given thrust to sports and games.
�Our State has tremendous potential in games like table tennis, archery, boxing and this need to be tapped at an early age to produce good players who can bring laurels to the State and the country. Our focus is on rural areas which are storehouse of talents. The only thing is providing the rural youth the facilities and right type of training to hone their sporting skills,� said Gogoi, adding that the government would build Rajiv Gandhi sports stadium in every development block in a phased manner.
The chief minister emphasised the need to organise inter-district sports by sports associations to �unearth latent talents� and the State Games every two years. �We should not be Guwahati-centric but spread our wings to the rural areas in search of new talents,� said Gogoi. Gogoi said that his government would continue to extend help and assistance to the sportspersons in the days ahead.
Speaking on the occasion, Panchayat & Rural Development Minister Rockybul Hussain, who happens to be general secretary of AOA, asked the sports associations to properly utilise the funds for development of sports and to submit the utilisation certificate on time.
President of Fencing Association of India, Durga Das Boro, requested the Chief Minister to make reservation of two per cent of government jobs for sportspersons. The function was attended, among others, by Minister for Sports & Youth Welfare, Ajit Singh, Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister for PHE, Gautam Roy and Parliamentary Secretary, Rekibuddin Ahmed.
