Maha Marathon in Thane on August 20

Thane, July 30 (UNI) After the grand success of the Thane Mayor Marathon, the state of Maharashtra and especially Thane city is all set for the another mega event, the Maha Marathon, to be held on August 20.

The Maha Marathon is the brainchild of Satishchandra Pradhan, the first Mayor of Thane who started the Marathon in Thane some 17 years ago.

Talking to the media today, former Rajyab Sabha MP Mr Pradhan said, ''The Maha event is just not yet another Marathon but will set aside all past records. The Marathon will be held at 350 places in the entire state simultaneously on August 20, 2006 at 8.30 am. There will be independent organising committees at each of the 350 locations which will be monitored from the headquarters at Thane.'' He further said, ''Recently I had completed the tour of all the districts of Maharashtra. To my pleasure, I have observed that the State Government has developed a good deal of infrastructure for the development and independence of sports at district and taluka levels. I had a good dialogue with various sports activists and sportsmen during the tour. I tried to get their indepth perception towards the optimum use and benefits from this infrastructure like sports complexes, sports material and appliances.'' ''However, with the past experience and the recent overview, it was apparent that the youth is not much willing to come to the sports ground or stadium. Parents and teachers are also not much enthusiastic about sending their child to the sports ground. In general, we do not have an encouraging atmosphere for sports. When I scanned the school performance in sports, I found that the percentage of the students interested in participating in sports events is hardly 10 to 15 % maximum. This is really shocking. I am very much interested in making a radical change in this passive scenario. Recently, our government has taken some good steps to encourage sportsmen.

In this course of development, I sincerely feel that the competitions like Marathon, Road Races will be definitely helpful and act like a catalyst to create and develop sporting atmosphere in our state,'' added Pradhan.

MORE UNI XR GB AY BS1406