Odisha government launches sports-based youth outreach; aimed at political gain: Oppn.
At a time when Assembly elections are being held in five States, the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha has launched an ambitious initiative aimed at the youth. The Integrated Youth Development Programme (IYDP) envisages a flurry of sports tournaments and cultural competitions for students through December and January, barely a few months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
While the Odisha government says the scheme’s primary aim is to foster engagement of youth in sports, culture, and social endeavours, dissenting voices from Opposition parties dismissed it as a calculated move for political advantage.
Over 12,000 teams with members in the age group of 1335 years have registered to participate in tournaments in six disciplines — cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi, khokho, and volleyball — under the ‘Yuba Odisha Nabin Odisha (NuaO)‘ initiative. Currently, the Department of Sports and Youth Services has 5,000 teams registered for cricket, 2,000 teams for football, 200 teams for hockey, 1,300 teams for kabbadi, 700 teams for khokho, and 1,700 teams registered to compete in volleyball.
According to the department, a group of youth with a genuine phone and WhatsApp number, and Aadhaar cards, can register their team for any of the six disciplines, and become eligible to participate in blocklevel sports tournaments to be funded by the State government.
Six departments have been roped in to ensure the scheme reaches all sections of youths. The Sports Department has already started placing funds with educational institutes under five different categories.