Assam Assembly: New sports policy in the offing

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State Government is going to formulate a new sports policy in line with Haryana and Odisha, or anything better than them. On behalf of Sports Minister Bimal Borah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika informed the State Assembly of this today.

The Assembly had a discussion on sports during the Question Hour. AGP MLA Prithiraj Rava raised a question on sports. BPF MLA Durgadas Boro and BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi also took part in the discussion.

In another question, Congress MLA Bhaskar Baruah also raised the issue of sports.

Rava said, “Will the players of international repute who got government jobs for their achievements in sports get promotions? There are also players and athletes who hold government jobs with their academic qualifications. Will the government promote such players also? Their promotions will have an inspirational impact on the next generation’s attitude towards games and sports.”

Bhaskar Baruah said, “Every Assembly constituency in the state needs a track and field. Only taking advantage of sports schemes will not be sufficient for the development of sports infrastructure. Every such scheme should have a logical purpose to serve.”

Responding to the queries, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said, “The government has already recruited Hima Das, Luvlina Borgohain, and Nayanmoni Saikia as deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) for bringing laurels to the state in games and sports. The government has also recruited two other players, Sanjay Boro and Jamuna Boro, as inspectors in the Excise Department for their performances in sports. The departments concerned will look into the matter of their promotions.”

Hazarika further said, “The present government has laid much emphasis on games and sports. The term of the 2018 State Sports Policy has already expired. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has instructed the Sports Department to prepare a new sports policy in line with that of Haryana and Odisha, or anything better than theirs. The nation has a perception that the sports policies of Haryana and Odisha are better than those of the rest of the states. The state’s annual budget has an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the development of sports infrastructure. It is the highest-ever allocation in this sector. The budget also has an allocation of Rs 30 crore to organize khel mohotsav so as to search for talents from all areas, including rural habitations.”

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