Mangalore, Dec 31: Attempts are being made to do sincere work in the field of fisheries and youth services. In the first phase, priority will be given to the laying of synthetic athletic tracks for sports and competitive events in seven district centres, said minister for fisheries, sports and youth services Abhayachandra Jain.
Interacting with mediapersons at 'Meet the Press' programme organised by DK Working Journalists Union and Press Club, Mangalore on Tuesday, he said that the seven synthetic tracks would be laid in Belgaum, Chitradurga, Bangalore, Kodagu, Mangalore, Shimoga and Gadag. Work will begin shortly to construct a new international standard swimming pool at Yemmekere in Mangalore. Steps will also be taken to commence work on a swimming pool in Udupi, for which the foundation has already been laid, he said.
Velodrome in Bijapur
He said that steps had been taken to construct an international-level velodrome in Bijapur city at a cost of Rs 7 crore to encourage the talent of cyclists in the district.
Rs 15 crore allotted for sports in Udupi district
As a good number of athletes hail from Udupi district, a plot of 28.5 acres of land has been allotted in Moodbidri for the empowerment of sportspersons in the district. The project will include a synthetic track at the cost of Rs 5 crore, an indoor shuttle court and a youth empowerment centre, at a total cost of Rs 15 crore, the sports minister said.
He said that the indoor stadium in Udupi was in need of immediate repairs which would be taken care of by the sports department.
Hockey to be encouraged
He said that a synthetic turf for hockey had been constructed in Mysore which had already been dedicated to the public. Another hockey turf had been constructed in Bangalore, while two more were in use in Kodagu district, he said.
A badminton court will be constructed at the cost of Rs 3 crore in the premises of Kantheerava stadium in Bangalore, he said.
He also said that in order to encourage rural sports in the state, the Ministry of Sports had proposed the construction of 18 gymkhanas in the year 2013-14.
Empowerment of youth organisations
Attempts are being made to empower youth organisations through the youth services department, for which funds will be allotted in the next state budget, he said.
Not man-handled the protestor
Trying to justify his misbehaviour with an auto-driver at a protest in Mulki on Monday, he said that if a politician did not respond to the reasonable demands put forth by people, they had the right to blame and complain against the politician. "However, when the people accuse me or my party of something baseless, I will not hesitate to retort," he said, claiming that he had not 'man-handled' the auto-driver as was reported in the media.
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