Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath on Thursday said that the state government will provide jobs to a huge number of sportspersons very soon.
"The government is working dedicatedly to provide government jobs to the talented sportspersons of the state. Two players (Lalit Upadhyay and Vijay Yadav) were given appointment letters as gazetted officers. Soon, many other players will also be benefitted," UP CM said while addressing the felicitation ceremony of sports talents at Raj Bhavan in Lucknow on the occasion of 74th Republic Day.
He further said that UP was the only state, which honoured all the athletes that bagged medals and made the country proud. He also said that taking inspiration from PM Modi's resolve of encouraging athletes and promoting sports in the country, Uttar Pradesh has made significant efforts to foster sports culture.
"State drew inspiration from the PM's encouragement and support to the sports fraternity and adopted a similar approach. Our government is leaving no stone unturned to provide all necessary assets to the sportspersons to promote sports activities for them to shine nationally and internationally."
The CM said that the process of reserving land for sports grounds through conversion in every village, construction of open gyms, mini stadiums at the block level, and stadiums at the district level is going on at war footing. Yogi also said that the construction of the State's first sports university in the name of Major Dhyanchand is underway in Meerut.
The CM further claimed that his government is giving encouragement to players through the provision of Rs 6 crore for winning gold in a single game in the Olympics, Rs 4 crores for silver and Rs 2 crore for winning bronze. In team games, Rs 3 crore for achieving a gold medal, Rs 2 crore for the silver medal and Rs 1 crore are being given to the players who win bronze.
"Similarly, the government gives a monetary reward of Rs 3 crore for gold, Rs 1.5 crore for silver and Rs 75 lakh for winning bronze in the Asian Games and Rs 1.5 crore for winning a gold medal, Rs 75 lakh for silver and Rs 50 lakh for bronze in Commonwealth and World Cup championships. In addition, Rs 10-10 lakhs are given to the players participating in the Olympics and Rs 5-5 lakhs in the Asian and Commonwealth categories. Out of the 14 state players, 4 each won silver and bronze medals in the Commonwealth held in Birmingham (England) while in the 36th National Games in held in Gujarat, UP players brought laurels by winning 20 gold, 18 silver and 18 bronze medals in 18 sports events," he added.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandi Ben Patel was also present at the event.
"It is a pleasure to honour the sportspersons on the auspicious day of Basant Panchami. Defeats should not disappoint sportspersons and victories should not overwhelm you. For attaining success in any field, the most important thing is to remain disciplined," the Governor said. "Your talent should reach the people around you. You will benefit more than they will benefit. One player should prepare 10 players", she added. —ANI