Punjab govt to develop 4 000 sports grounds in 1st phase to fight drug menace CM Mann

    Chandigarh, Jul 13 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday announced that modern playgrounds will be developed in villages across the state to wean youth away from drugs and channelise their energy in a positive direction.
    "We have decided to develop these grounds. The work on 3,083 grounds is going to start and a total of 4,000 grounds will be developed in the first phase," he said during a press conference here.
    He said athletes who won medals in international competitions will also be involved in coaching to promote a sporting culture among the youth.
    There are nearly 13,000 villages in Punjab, and quality grounds will be built in every village, he added.
    Mann said when children take part in sports, they stay away from bad habits and their energy is channelised positively.
    The government keeps receiving hundreds of proposals from village Panchayats for building sports stadiums in villages, Mann said, adding that there is no dearth of land availability for developing grounds in villages.
    Even NRIs are willing to donate land, he added.
    With Punjab already running the "Yudh Nashian Virudh" (war against drugs) campaign, Mann said the initiative is the next step in the campaign.
    Taking a swipe at previous governments, he alleged they pushed youth towards drugs.
    "Youth were inclined towards sports and education. But during the previous governments' time, they were neither given grounds nor books. As they say, an idle mind is a devil's workshop, many youth fell into bad habits. Gradually, Punjab slipped into the quagmire of drugs and youngsters did not get the atmosphere they deserved," he said.
    "Being a Punjabi and a sports lover, our aim is to pull the state's youth out of the drug menace. For that, we need to give them alternatives so they do not slip back into the habit," Mann said.
    He stressed that the best alternative is sports and added that with proper support and opportunities, Punjab's youth can excel in several sports.
    Despite lack of facilities in the past, players like Shubman Gill and Harbhajan Singh emerged from Punjab, he said, adding that many players in the national hockey team also come from the state.
    Shubman is the Indian Cricket Team's Test captain while Harmanpreet Singh is national hockey team's captain, Mann said. We have abundant talent, he said.
    Punjab's youth can excel in hockey, cricket, kabaddi, athletics -- what they need is the right atmosphere and support, the chief minister said.
    Astroturf, synthetic tracks will be laid, he said, adding that there is no dearth for money. Sports nurseries will be set up for a cluster of villages.
    Mann said that the state government gives money to sportspersons for training purpose before they are to take part in top sports competitions. "Punjab government is taking sports as priority," he said.
    He said different areas in Punjab are known for dominance in a particular sport and accordingly such sport will be promoted in that area.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)