17th edition of NIDJAM kick-starts in Tirupati

Tirupati: The State government has been giving top priority to sports and it was committed to find a place for AP in the international sports map, said Minister for Sports, Youth Empowerment and Tourism Muthamsetti Srinivasa Rao.

Inaugurating the 17th edition of National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) at S V University Tarakarama Stadium in Tirupati on Saturday, he said that in tune with its policy, the government has been encouraging sports and sportspersons particularly from rural areas in a big way.

It anyone from rural areas wins gold medal at national level, he/she will be rewarded with Rs 5 lakh and for silver Rs 3 lakh and for bronze Rs 2 lakh. During the last six months, the government has given away incentives worth Rs 2 crore to sports personalities.

To develop sports infrastructure in the State, it was decided to construct international sports complexes at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati along with a sports stadium in every constituency.

The Minister reiterated the government's commitment to develop Tirupati as tourism and sports centre which is already a well known pilgrim city. With the objective to nurture sports talent among all age groups and to cater to the needs of potential sports personalities in AP, the government has launched multiple flagship programmes with a budgetary allocation of Rs 60 crore for 2018-19.

Currently more than 30,000 promising sportspersons are being nurtured to fulfill their dreams and bring laurels to the nation, he underlined. Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy has expressed the hope that Tirupati will become the permanent venue for such tournaments in future too.

Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development P Ramachandra Reddy said that it was a proud occasion that Tirupati has been hosting such a national event for the second time and thanked Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for providing such opportunity.

Chittoor MP N Reddeppa, MLC Y Sreenivasulu Reddy, MLAs B Madhusudana Reddy, K Adimulam, RK Roja, and A Sreenivasulu also spoke on the occasion. Olympian and Padma Sri awardee Anju Bobby George has advised the parents to spot the talent in their wards and send them to academies for their bright future in sports. Joint Secretary of Athletic Federation of India (AFI) Madhukanth Pathak also spoke.

The Ministers released pigeons and balloons to mark the inauguration of the sports events. Earlier, athletes from all 28 States and 11 Union Territories took part in the march past.

Uttar Pradesh has sent a largest contingent of 570 persons including coaches and officials, Tamil Nadu's team was the second largest. AP was being represented by 185 athletes.

For the first time, Andaman and Nicobar Islands participated in NIDJAM this year. Chittoor District Collector Dr N Bharat Gupta, Tirupati Municipal Commissioner PS Girisha, CEO of District Sports Authority S Lakshmi, JC-II VR Chandramouli and others participated.