15 January,2016 04:05 PM IST | | PTI
Maharashtra government will make efforts to hold a national tribal students' sports meet in near future, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today
Nagpur: Maharashtra government will make efforts to hold a national tribal students' sports meet in near future, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
"Maharashtra will make all-out efforts to play host to a national-level tribal students' sports championship in the near future," Fadnavis said after inaugurating the state-level tribal sports meet here this morning. He said there was a need to give enough opportunities to the tribal students to display their talent.
The sports and games create team leadership and also inculcate a sense of sportsman spirit among the sports-persons which help them in their lives, he said. He lauded the state tribal welfare department for setting up an exclusive 'Krida Prabodhini' (sports academy) for the tribal students in Nashik.
The tribals are playing a big role in conservation of water, forests and land in the tribal areas. They are the real conservators of environment, Fadnavis said. He noted that the tribal students' sports and games were earlier not recognised by the state Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs which deprived them of many benefits.
Now it has been recognised and therefore, the participants at the state-level meet will earn 25 sports points and medal winners will gain preference in employment, the CM said.
The tribal sports meet has been organised in Nagpur after a gap of four years which has attracted nearly 1,700 tribal sports students.
Maharashtra Tribal Welfare Minister Vishnu Sawra and Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule were also present on the occasion.