Guwahati, March 30: The Assam government on Thursday signed MoUs with three entities for setting up two high-performance sports training and rehabilitation centres in the state.
The memorandum inked with Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Limited, in the presence of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, was for the establishment of a high-performance sports training and rehabilitation centre in Guwahati.
Likewise, the MoUs signed with Oil India Limited (OIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) was for setting up a similar centre in Jorhat.
Director of sports and youth welfare Nibedan Das Patowary signed the MoU on behalf of the Assam government while Olympian Abhinav Bindra signed the same on behalf of Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Limited at a function held in Janata Bhawan here.
Similarly, chief general manager (HR), OIL Ranjan Goswami signed the MoU for OIL while CGM (HR), NRL, Kajal Saikia signed the MoU for NRL.
Each high performance sports training Centre will be established at a projected cost of Rs 23.78 crore with an additional operational maintenance cost of approximately Rs 2.49 crore.
The state government will fund the expenses of the Guwahati centre while Oil India Ltd and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd will contribute their CSR towards the Jorhat centre.
While presiding over the MoU signing ceremony, Sarma said that the high performance sports training and rehabilitation centres are the latest additions in building high quality sports infrastructure in the state.
He said the high-performance sports training centres will bring about qualitative improvement in the sporting landscape of the state.
The chief minister also said that physical fitness of youths is an important aspect of showing high performance in sports. “Therefore, the high performance sports training and rehabilitation centres will go a long way in achieving an important milestone in excelling in sports,” Sarma said.
He further informed that the operations of the centres are an important segment as the state government has involved Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Ltd for running the centres for five years. During this period, the state government will create its own expertise for running these centres.
Exuding confidence over the outcome of the sports training centres, Sarma said athletes of the state should come forward to take help from these centres to enhance their competence, set standards and contribute to excellence in sports.
Outlining the Assam government’s commitment to the promotion of sports and improvement of its quality, Sarma said that last year, the government spent Rs 1000 crore for creating sports infrastructure across the state.