State’s first disability sports centre to come up in Zirakpur

JALANDHAR:Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said here on Sunday that his department has allocated land to start work on the state’s first Centre of Excellence for Disability Sports to be constructed by the Union government at a cost of ₹150 crore in Zirakpur.

“It is a moment of proud that Punjab is among the three states where such centres will be constructed. I have cleared the file allocating a 10-acre piece of prime land worth ₹50 crore at Dyalpura village in Zirakpur,” Sidhu said.

As per information, the Union government has selected three cities in the country — Zirakpur in Punjab, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh — to construct these centres of excellence to be built on the Brazilian model. The project will be completed in twoand-a-half years.

Asked about a sports minister for the state, Sidhu, pitching for Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh, said that it is up to the Congress president Rahul Gandhi to decide over the expansion of the cabinet and the post.

“We have a lot of sports players in Punjab but it needs to catch them young and I wish Pargat will be made sports minister as he is an all-rounder and can help strengthen the sports infrastructure,” Sidhu said. He also announced to bring an e-governance project within next four months and a project to provide potable water from canals in two years. Sidhu said that the centre will act as a breeding ground for producing para Olympians, faculty, volunteers and the technical staff of international repute for the country.

› It is a moment of pride that Punjab is among the three states in the country where such centres will be built. NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU, local bodies minister