By Our Staff Reporter
New Tehri, 13 Dec: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the closing ceremony of the Tehri Water Sports Cup 2024 under the 35th Senior National Canoe-Sprint Championship at Koti Colony, Tehri Garhwal here today. During the event, Dhami made several announcements for the Tehri region, including hot mixing of the roads related to Medical College, New Tehri, construction of multi-level parking in New Tehri, building a sports ground at the district headquarters, and implementing a drinking water pumping scheme with aid from JICA with a 50-year vision for the Tehri-Chamba region.
On this occasion, the CM also honoured the winners of the canoeing competition, awarding trophies and medals to those who had secured first place in the overall championship and the first and second places in the men’s and women’s categories.
Addressing the gathering, Dhami expressed pride in the successful organisation of the third Tehri Water Sports Cup in the Tehri Dam reservoir. He emphasised that Tehri Lake plays a vital role in enhancing the state’s economy and employment through energy production, water management, tourism, and adventure sports. He said that the government aims to hold such events regularly to promote tourism activities and bolster the local economy. Organising these competitions year-round would propel the Tehri region to new heights of development, he felt.
Dhami also insisted that sports not only aids physical and mental development but also instils discipline and combativeness. Programmes like Fit India and Khelo India, initiated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, have fostered a sports culture in the country. Dhami claimed that India is reaching new heights in sports at the national and international levels under Modi’s leadership. The state government is also continuously working to nurture youth talent in Uttarakhand.
He reminded that to encourage sports and players, the state government has implemented a new sports policy. Medal-winning athletes at national and international levels are being given out-of-turn jobs. Schemes like the Sports Development Policy, Chief Minister Khiladi Protsaahan Yojana, Chief Minister Udayeeman Khiladi Yojana, and Sports Kit Yojana aim to support and honour players through awards like the Uttarakhand Khel Ratna Award and Himalaya Khel Ratna Award. The re-introduction of a 4 percent sports quota in state services would ensure that players’ hard work is recognised and rewarded by the state level.
Dhami also announced that a sports university would soon be established in the state, providing world-class training and sports facilities. Uttarakhand has the honour of hosting the 38th National Games, for which infrastructure is being developed. The Chief Minister assured that the 38th National Games, based on the Green Games theme, would be historic and would give the state a new identity globally. He added that three G-20 meetings were successfully held in the state, with two of them in Tehri.
Those who were present in today’s event included MLA, Tehri, Kishore Upadhyay, MLA, Ghansali, Shakti Lal Shah, District President, BJP, Rajesh Nautiyal, State General Secretary, BJP, Aditya Kothari, CMD, THDC, RK Vishnoi, Chairman, OBC Commission, Sanjay Negi, District Panchayat Administrator Sona Sajwan, Secretary, Olympic Association of Uttarakhand, DK Singh, IG ITBP Sanjay Gunjyal, Director Technical, THDC, Bhupendra Gupta, Executive Director, THDC, LP Joshi, DM Mayur Dixit and SSP Ayush Aggarwal.
