Bhopal, Dec 26 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said players from the state winning medals in Olympics and Asian Games will be appointed as deputy superintendent of police and deputy collector.
Chouhan was addressing the state government’s award distribution programme, which was also attended by Union Minister for Sports Anurag Thakur.
Chouhan and Thakur, on the occasion, unveiled the logo of ‘Khelo India Youth Games-2022’, scheduled to be held in Madhya Pradesh next year.
The CM said parents are worried about the careers of their children and prevent them from indulging in sports.
Citing the example of hockey player Vivek Prasad Sagar, who was part of the Indian team that won the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, being made Deputy SP and given a house worth Rs 1 crore in Bhopal, the CM said, “We have decided that the players who win medals in the Olympics and Asian Games will be appointed to the post of deputy SP and deputy collector.” “The state government has also decided to appoint 10 players as sub inspector and 50 as constable in the police force on the basis of their performance. Teams or players that perform well and win medals in Khelo India will be given Rs 5 lakh annually for coaching,” he said.
The chief minister said his government will gradually develop sports infrastructure at the village level.
Speaking on the occasion, Thakur praised the shooting and equestrian academies of the MP Sports Department and termed them as one of the best in the country.
He said the importance of sports lies in the fact that the Tricolour is unfurled on foreign soil if a players win a competition there.
Citing various medals won by players during the year, Thakur said 2022 has been very important for sports.
A budget of Rs 3195 crore has been provided for the five years under the Khelo India programme, he said, adding The Union minister said 1,000 Khelo India centres are being opened in the country and 750 of them have already been approved, with work on them being completed by August 15 next year.
Thakur praised MP Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia and said she was the only one who attended the entire two-day conference in Kevadia in Gujarat of sports ministers of all states.
Besides equestrian and shooting academies, Thakur also inspected the Water Sports Academy, Tatya Tope Nagar Stadium and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility earlier in the day.
The fifth edition of Khelo India youth games is scheduled to be organised from January 30 to February 11 next year.
These games will be held in Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Khargone (Maheshwar), an official said.
“For the first time water sports, namely kayaking and canoeing, canoe slalom and rowing will be part of this edition of the games. Fencing has also been included for the first time in the games,” the official said.
As part of the fifth edition of Khelo India, 27 games will be played at 23 game venues. Around 6000 players, 303 international and 1089 national officials will be a part of this game.
Some 2,000 volunteers will be deployed in different game venues for the Khelo India games.
Source: PTI News
