The Indian Olympic Association today expressed its happiness at the pace of preparations by the Uttarakhand government to host the National Games in either 2018 or 2019.
The new sports minister of Uttarakhand, Arvind Pandey today met IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta in New Delhi and discussed the preparations and the groundwork required to stage the National Games.
The Games are proposed to be held in the capital city of Dehradun and Haldwani. “I am in touch with the sports department and government of Uttarakhand on a regular basis and we are reviewing the situation and all the arrangements that need to be taken care of.
“So far, the preparations are going on well and in today’s meeting I had a detailed discussion with the sports minister and he assured me that the infrastructure would be ready in time. I am hopeful and confident that Uttarakhand will deliver the best Games,” Mehta said.
Sports minister Pandey said, “We are working on the infrastructure required to host the National Games in 2018 and there is a lot of scope for development in the field of sports in our state. We have one year to go for the Games and I am sure our government will conduct the Games successfully.”
According to the original schedule, Uttarakhand is to host the 2018 edition of the Games after the 2016 and 2017 editions in Goa and Chhattisgarh respectively.
After multiple delays, Goa has been told to host the 36th edition in November-December this year though the new chief minister Manohar Parrikar recently hinted that the state can host the Games only next year.
Mehta said that he will meet Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh shortly and will discuss which year his state could host the Games.
“If Goa hosts the Games in November-December this year and Chhattisgarh stages the Games in 2018, then Uttarakhand may get the Games in 2019. We will sort this out. I am going to meet the Chhattisgarh chief minister in a few days,” Mehta said.
Pandey was accompanied by Balraj Passi, a former Member of Parliament from Uttrakhand.
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