By Donlang War Phira
The year 2022, two years from now, Meghalaya will be celebrating the 50th year of its creation. In this same year, it will also have the privilege of hosting the 39th National Games. The countdown has begun. The clock has started ticking. In a press conference held on the first week of August 2019, Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma stated that a blueprint for hosting the National Games -2022 in the state is ready and the Union Cabinet’s nod is awaited for the proposals sent to it. Further, he stated, land for holding the games has been taken over by the Government. The Chief Minister’s statement was to allay the fears of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Assembly, that the State may not be able to host the National Games- 2022. It has asked the government to come up with a blueprint on the preparations for hosting the National Games. In this press conference, the Chief Minister assured the PAC as well as the people of the State that his Government is on track; the blueprint is ready, things are moving and the state will be hosting the National Games 2022.
Circa 2020 – during the Republic Day celebration this year, in the city, on Sunday- the Chief Minister spoke about the progress of the preparations for the event and that the Government is fully prepared to host, “An Impressive National Games 2022”. He added that for the main Stadium at Umsawli, to be constructed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Rs. 200 Crore has been cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee. Only the final clearance by the Central Cabinet is awaited. Rs. 125 Crore has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Minority Affairs for creation of sports infrastructure in West Garo Hills. Another Rs. 20 Crore has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the construction of an indoor stadium in Shillong.
The Government has appointed Peter S. Dkhar a retired civil servant, well seasoned in administration, as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Games Secretariat. The National Informatics Centre, along with the State’s Information and Technology Department, will develop a Website for the Games. The State Animal, the Clouded Leopard, will be the mascot for the National Games 2022. A competition to design a smiling Clouded Leopard will be open to all. Speaking at the National Games Outreach Summit held in Shillong on November 19, 2019, the Chief Minister expressed optimism that the National Games 2022 would be “A Massive Transformational Event” for the State. The National Games- 2022 will not only develop the Sports Culture in the State but will open up opportunities for trade, entrepreneurship, tourism besides developing urban infrastructures and connectivity.
To go back to history, it was all thanks to the Delhi -1982 Asian Games, that Delhi underwent an unbelievable transformation. It was in 1982 that Delhi finally began to develop. What the Games did, to both the infrastructure of Delhi and the image of India to the world, cannot be compared in words. New stadiums were built- the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Siri Fort Auditorium, the Karni Singh Shooting Range. The 60,000 seater J N Stadium, till date an important part of Delhi’s skyline, is still the city’s most desired venue for cultural and sporting events. The new Games village drastically changed the geography of Delhi. The sight of seven new flyovers then, made the city feel like a truly international city. Within a span of two years, Delhi indeed underwent an unbelievable transformation. And it was all thanks to the Delhi -1982 Asian Games- 290 kms of roads got widened, 50 intersections redesigned with a fleet of new buses added to the streets of Delhi. Two new five star hotels were created from scratch- the Kanishka Hotel and the Ashoka Yatri Niwas. And at a time when getting a phone connection was a rare privilege, Delhi got 12,000 new phone lines. Power distribution was upgraded and the people of Delhi began getting 15 million gallons of water daily with the Ganga Yamuna link. All this would probably not have occurred had the Delhi Asian Games not happened.
Indeed the Delhi -1982 Asian Games was an opportunity seized. Two years was all it took to not only change the face of Delhi but also enhance the image of the country to the world. Actually, India had been awarded the Games in 1976, but due to a number of reasons, notably the political chaos caused by the Emergency, construction work only began after 1979 which left a relatively short time to get things done. Rajiv Gandhi, then an ordinary MP and the then Lieutenant Governor of New Delhi, Jagmohan Malhotra, personally supervised the construction, taking daily rounds of the sites. And all being personally monitored by the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi! The rest they say is history. But it also fired India’s imagination by creating the first National TV Service and introducing colour television, unleashing new dynamics into the Indian imagination.
India may not be a major sporting power, but India was presented with a new crop of champions. It ranked fifth in the overall medals tally, winning 13 Gold, 19 Silver and 25 Bronze Medals. PT Usha, from Kerala first gained international attention at the Games when she won the Silver Medal in both the 100 mts. and 200 mts events. Four years later, she dominated the field at the Seoul-1986 Asian Games.
In about a few years time, the Shillong Golf Course will be celebrating 100 years of its conversion to an 18 hole golf course. It was in 1924 that Captain Jackson and C.K.Rhodes initiated its conversion from a 9- hole course. But with the passage of time , we as citizens of Shillong have laid waste to the Shillong Golf Course. The public road that runs past the course has now become a public highway. We have made the course a public thoroughfare to the many localities around the course. As a result, ‘foot pathways’ cut permanent and loud gashes all through the course. These are ugly scars in the face of the course. The greens have been trampled upon and the fairways have been encroached. Increase in footfalls have made maintenance of the course a near impossibility.
The National Games -2022 is a God-sent opportunity. The Government, together with the different stake holders affiliated with the Shillong Golf Course can now come together-pool their knowledge, their expertise, their experience – to not only improve the Golf Course in particular but also to develop the Golf Links in general. We can thus prove to ouselves that we are true to these one of the few legacies bequeathed to us by the British.