Punjab to have hockey astro turfs in all districts

Chandigarh, Mar 21 (UNI) To promote hockey in the state, the Punjab Government has decided to lay synthetic hockey surfaces in all the districts in the next five years.

Presiding over a meeting of officers of the Sports Department here today, the Sports Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike said that the department has to make concerted efforts to ensure that Punjab once again emerges as the nursery of hockey talent. Punjab should regain its hockey glory at the national level, he added.

He said that presently, astroturf surfaces were available only at Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar and also at NIS Patiala. Astroturf surfaces would be laid in two more districts in next financial year and by the end of the 11 th five year plan, all district headquarters would have synthetic surfaces.

The Sports Minister said that sports clubs for the promotion of the sports would be set up in all 12,300 villages of the state and a grant of Rs 51,000 would be given to each club over a period of five years. He further said that a Punjab Institute of Sports would be established on the lines of NIS patiala for developing sporting activity in the state.

Underlining the need for launching a special drive to search and nurture budding talent in hockey from the villages, especially in the border area, the minister asked the department to set up camps to identify talented youth.

Mr Ranike informed that the department is planning to lay six-a-side hockey turfs at Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), Sansarpur (Jalandhar), Faridkot, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Moga, RaiKot (Ludhiana), Verka (Amritsar), Government Brajindera College (Faridkot), Kairon in Tarn Taran, Polo Ground at Patiala and Mithapur (Jalandhar). He further said that the department had earmarked Rs 12 crore to lay 20 six-a-side surfaces in 11th five year plan.

Mr Ranike directed the Director of Sports to activate sports officials based in the districts and recruit 130 more coaches in addition to 270 coaches already with the department, so that each district would have a minimum of 20 coaches.

Former hockey Olympian and sports Director Pargat Singh gave an overview of the infrastructural requirements of the department.

UNI