Shiva offered Rs 1 crore against medal at Rio

By a Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 26: Assam Fince Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today allocated Rs10 lakh for Olympian Shiva Thapa and Rs 5 lakh for upcoming tennis player Tanisha Kashyap in the first budget of the BJP-led government. Sarma also announced that Rs 1 crore has been allocated separately for Shiva if he wins a medal in Rio. A special allocation of Rs 1 crore has also been made for the preparation of ground at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium for the U-17 World Cup.

The Assam Amateur Boxing Association has welcomed the announcement of the Fince Minister. Hemanta Kalita, the secretary of the association, said, “We welcome the announcement. This type of cash incentives will encourage other sportspersons also to take sports seriously.”  

The main features of the budget for youth affairs and sports:

* Three state- of-the- art stadia will be constructed at Dibrugarh, North Lakhimpur and in Kamrup District. The stadia will be built within the defined time frames and initially Rs 3 crore has been allocated. The alloction will be stepped up in the coming years.

* Rs 1 crore has been allocated for preparing the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium that will host the U-17 World Cup soccer tourment.

* A cash award of Rs 10 lakh has been allocated for Rio-bound boxer Shiva Thapa. If he gets a medal in Rio Olympics, State Government will award him Rs 1crore.

* A cash reward of Rs 5 lakh announced for talented State tennis star Tanisha Kashyap for becoming number one junior tennis player in India. She will also participate in a competition which will be held in Wimbledon.

* Yoga facilities will be introduced in all Sports facilities in the State and the requisite assistance and skills will be sourced from the market.

* A new Flagship Scheme of the Sports & Youth Welfare Department for organizing State and district-level School Games in various sports disciplines for different age groups will be taken up in all the districts of the State as ‘State School Games’.

* Sports Talent Search Scholarship will be offered to the students and players of the State for their remarkable performance in the sports competitions at State, tiol and Intertiol levels.

* Rs 1crore have been allocated for providing high level coaching and sophisticated equipment to the players who are needy but highly talented.

* A Central Flagship Programme – Khelo India— will be accorded top priority to organize sports competitions in rural areas from block to district and State levels.

* Rs 2.5 crore has been allocated to develop Kalaguru Bishnu Rabha Cultural and Sports Complex in Bindhakata High School, Chabua.