Port Blair, Feb 22: The newly built Multipurpose Indoor Stadium at Kanyapuram was inaugurated by the Lt. Governor, A&N Islands, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi by cutting the ribbon and unveiling the plaque this morning. He also dedicated the Stadium to the people of the area on the occasion. The Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri Anindo Majumdar, Principal Secretary (Sports), Shri Raajiv Yaduvanshi, Secretary (APWD), Shri Sanjeev Khirwar, Adhyaksh, ZPSA, Shri Jaydeep Kumar Dey, Chairperson, PBMC, Shri B. Eswar Rao, Panchayat Samiti Pramukh, Shri Sandeep Biswas, Senior officers of the Administration and PRI members of the area were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, soon after inspecting the newly built Multipurpose Indoor Stadium and the facilities available therein, the Lt. Governor exhorted the people of the area as well as the officers of the Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs to make best use of the world class Indoor Stadium so as to produce world class sports persons from the Islands. “The Indoor Stadium, which has the facilities of badminton, table tennis, basket ball, volley ball and gymnasium, should be maintained properly so that the sports persons can be nurtured with the facilities available”, said the Lt. Governor. He said, the sports persons, especially the school students need to be provided with proper training in a particular sporting event to hone their skills so that they can excel at national as well as international sports events. “There is no dearth of talents in the Islands and it is the responsibility of the Principal, Teachers, especially the Physical Education Teachers of a particular school to identify and provide coaching to the talented students”, remarked the Lt. Governor.
The Lt. Governor also urged the Director of Sports & Youth Affairs to regulate timings for the users; viz. women, men and students accordingly so as to enable them to utilize the available facilities without any hassle. He also assured that by April 15, 2017, the equipments for the gymnasium will be made available. The Lt. Governor also informed that Sports Academies have been set up here in the Islands for training budding talents in sports like swimming, cycling, football, etc. and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been entrusted with the work of providing special coaching to the selected students in the age group of 10 to 14 years with proper practices, diet and health care facilities.
Mentioning that sports is being given importance in the country, the Lt. Governor said, now a days, women are making remarkable achievements in the field of sports, both at national and international levels in events like cricket, tennis, boxing etc. and have brought laurels to the nation in Olympics, Asian as well as Commonwealth Games. Similarly, women in these Islands should also be encouraged to participate in sports activities and utilize the facilities available so that they can represent the Islands and the country as well at different fora, said the Lt. Governor.
The Lt. Governor stressed that curricular as well as sports activities should go hand in hand; as sports keep students active, healthy, and this will contribute to their growth and achievements in both activities. He also stressed the need for encouraging every student to participate in sports events, so that talented students in a particular sport can be spotted and given proper training.
Referring to the health facilities in the Islands, the Lt. Governor said, the health services available in the Primary Health Centers in the Islands are far better than those of mainland India in terms of availability of medicines, doctors, paramedical staff and cleanliness.
The Lt Governor informed the gathering that the health facilities in the Islands will further be augmented by making the required Super Specialty services such as cardiology, neurology, nephrology and orthopedic surgery available. He said by June 1, 2017, a Cath lab. for treatment of heart related ailments, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, stent installment, heart valve changing will be made available at G. B. Pant Hospital besides an Orthopedic Department, having equipments for spine surgery, knee/joint replacement with modular operation theatre will also be made available. By January, 2018, other departments like Nephrology, Neurology and Neuro surgery and the services of neurologist, Neuro Surgeon and Nephrologists will also be made available. Once these Departments are established, the need for going to mainland for treatment of these ailments will be done away with, said the Lt. Governor.
The Lt. Governor said that apart from augmenting health services, the Administration is also focusing on introducing new projects in different sectors viz. Tourism, Agriculture, Fisheries & Animal Husbandry, Power and tele-connectivity etc. He said, the effort of the Administration is to take A&N Islands on the path of progress and project it on the world map.
Speaking on the occasion, the Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray highlighted the various developmental projects which will soon come up in the Islands. These include, the bridge between Uttara Jetty and Gandhighat Jetty, National Highway from Austin to Kalara Junction, bridge at Humphrey strait besides the bridge between Chatham and Bambooflat and the undersea Optical Fibre Cable project. He also mentioned that the Administration will make available the required Health care facilities for treating heart related ailments, orthopaedic and neurology cases etc. He also informed about the regulation of the Govt. pending for implementation by APWD, which will be taken up by the Department and the DRMs of APWD will get their due by April this year.
In his welcome address, the Principal Secretary (Sports), Shri Raajiv Yaduvanshi briefed the gathering about the newly built Multipurpose Indoor Stadium. He said that the building has been constructed at the cost of Rs. 4.89 crore on an area of 1539 sq. mt. on a land of about 1 hectare. He said, a nominal fee will be charged from the general public for using the facilities; while the students can utilize the facilities free of cost. The indoor stadium has been constructed with an aim to ensure that an aptitude for sports is developed among the youth, particularly of Wimberlygunj and Kanyapuram areas. He expressed hope that the stadium will be put to good use and urged for proper maintenance of the building as well as the equipments.
Earlier, the students of Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Tushnabad presented a welcome song while the inaugural function concluded with the vote of thanks, proposed by the Director (Sports), Shri A.K.Trivedi.
