AP aims at organising Olympic Games in Amaravati, says CM

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the State government would conduct Olympics in Amaravati in future. Inaugurating the All India Civil Services Cricket Tournament at Mulapadu in Krishna district here on Saturday, he said the State government was establishing international standard infrastructure facilities in the State for organising international-level sports events.

The Union government was also supporting sports while the State government has capability to organise international events like Olympics, he said. The government was planning to develop sports stadiums in all the 175 Assembly constituencies and 16,000 major villages, he said and added that the State would be model for encouraging sports in the country. He reiterated that the State government has always been encouraging sports.

Recalling the experience in his previous stint, he said that the government allotted land to Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. "Now the academy had been producing international players like Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and P V Sindhu. There is no scarcity for talent," he said. 

He was confident that the country and state would create new history in sports. He asserted that the State government was conducting sports events exclusively on Saturdays and Sundays in towns and cities. He congratulated the officers of All India Civil Services of 34 units for participating in the sports event.    

Andhra Pradesh Sports Minister Kollu Ravindra said that the government was constructing international sports complexes in Amaravati, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam. The government would also start 10 sports academies in the State. MP Gokaraju Gangaraju asked the government to take steps for development of eco-tourism in the country. He said the Mulapadu ground would get prominent place in near future.

Principal Secretary Gopalakrishna Dwivedi said that the sports event would be held from January 27 to February 3. He said that 800 officials were participating in the event. Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Collector B Lakshmikantham, AP NGOs state president P Ashok Babu and several officials were present.