Shyamhari Chakra
Much to the cheer of the differently-abled sports persons and athletes of the country, India will have its first ever Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh soon.
The world class centre, coming up at a cost of Rs.170.99 crore, is being set up by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through its Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
At present, the nation has no training facilities available for sportsperson with disabilities. The upcoming Centre will make available the specialised training facilities for such talents, a Ministry statement said.
The setting up of this Centre will develop a sense of belonging in divangjan to facilitate their integration in the society, it added.
The Cabinet had approved the proposal for setting up of the Centre at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on February 28 last year.
The Centre will be registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. For its overall supervision, a Governing Body under chairpersonship of Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has been constituted. Monitoring the implementation of the project will be a handled by the Project Monitoring Committee headed by the Chairperson of the Governing Body.
The Centre will provide facilities of international standards to sportspersons with disabilities to compete at international level and bring laurels for the country, the officials said.
It will have an outdoor athletic stadium, indoor sports complex, basement parking facility, an aquatic centre having two swimming pools, a High Performance Centre with classrooms; medical facilities and a Sports Science Centre.
Additionally, it will also have hostel facilities for athletes, support facilities including accessible lockers, dining, recreational amenities and an Administrative Block.
The Centre will also have provision for training, selection, sports academics and research, medical support and spectator galleries for holding national and international events, the Department officials detailed.
The Department has identified badminton, basketball, table tennis, volleyball, tennis, judo, taekwondo, fencing and rugby boccia, goalball, football, para dance sport, para powerlifting, athletics, archery and swimming for training at the Centre.
