Promoting sports
Just a day back various players from several states had a chance to play in a cricket league that is being held in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. This was for the first time ever that players from various states had come here and had a chance to interact and play with the local boys.
The event proved an eye opener for the young players from south Kashmir who got a chance to know more about the sport and gave the visitors an insight about the talent the local boys possesses.
The event though went unreported in the mainstream media but on ground the event has proven a success as many young local boys have got an inspiration to make it big in the field of sports and cricket figures on top of that list.
Notably, outdoor sports activities have always attracted the younger negation. These activities not only keep them physically sound but also helped them to achieve a positive bend of mind.
However, over the past several decades the past governments here ignored the plight of the younger people as the region did not have a well defined sports policy. Though Jammu and Kashmir witnessing turmoil for almost three decades, the thought to engage the youth in sports related fields never crossed the mind of the authorities.
Since the youth here is quite outgoing and forward looking their involvement in sports activities could have got them engaged and diverted them to something constructive and productive.
Ironically, some measures which were announced during the past regimes either got stuck up in bureaucratic red tape or ended up benefitting the people who were close to the corridor of power.
Sports activity, though quite limited during the past several years did not attract the youth’s attention and hence the activity did not achieve the desired results it should have achieved over the years.
Now a huge movement forward is being witnessed on this front as the administration led by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced a comprehensive sports policy last year which intends to make the sports lucrative for youth.
The government sanctioned the implementation of Jammu & Kashmir Sports Policy 2022 with the institution of several sports awards, incentives, scholarships, appointment of outstanding sports persons among other features.
This first ever policy document has been created with the vision of ‘games and sports for all’ and is designed to be in conformity with the National Sports Policy of the country.
The policy document lays thrust to create vibrant incentivized sports ecosystem through strategic interventions for sports in Jammu and Kashmir. The basic cannons of the policy are to scout, engage, facilitate and recognise.
The vision of the proposed Jammu and Kashmir Sports Policy 2022 is to create a dynamic, inclusive, competitive and innovative environment that enables and empowers the young citizens to experience and benefit from a strong sports culture- to facilitate the creation of a self-sustaining and participative sports eco-system that makes sports affordable, enjoyable and sustainable for all who wish to play and for those who wish to excel on the global forefront.
The youth here are faced with many challenges and physical activity that the policy will ensure can sure help the youth to move away from various evils that they have fallen prey to.
KV News
