Nat'l Games preparations on track, say state officials

28 December 2015

In a major boost to the state sports department, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) expressed satisfaction at the preparations for the 38th National Games, slated to be held in Uttarakhand in 2018.
The Uttarakhand sports department made a detailed presentation on the on-going preparations and status of infrastructure at the venues, during the IOA annual general meeting held at Guwahati earlier this month.

Elaborating on the presentation, Ajay Agarwal, deputy director, sports department, told TOI, "The main aim was to apprise the IOA about the preparations, status of venues where sporting events would be held and other operational matters related to the national games. We also told IOA that all the infrastructure projects would be ready well within time."

Large-scale infrastructure projects have been undertaken by the state government for the 2018 National Games. A state-of-the-art city sports complex along with a stadium is being constructed at Haldwani while a multi-sports-complex is under-construction at Maharana Pratap Sports College in Dehradun. Besides, another multi-sports indoor hall is also being planned at Parade Ground in the state capital.

Moreover, the department is in the process of making detailed project reports (DPRs) of the renovation work to be done in the sports infrastructure already existing in the state.

The state has already sought Rs 900 from the union government to successfully conduct the 38th National Games. Two separate DPRs for construction cost and operational cost have been sent to the Centre by the sports department.

"As of now, we have shortlisted 36 sporting events for the National Games, which will be held at 10 different venues across the state. Slight changes could be made after IOA team comes for inspection next year," said a sports department official.

 

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