Sports2 min
Vikramaditya Singh at Kotkhai: Sports can keep Himachal's youth off drugs
At the close of a four-day rural sports meet in Shimla district, the minister pitched games as a daily alternative to addiction and announced Rs 51,000 for the host club.
Himachal Pradesh Public Works and Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh used the closing ceremony of a village sports meet at Kotkhai in Shimla district on Saturday to argue that sport can pull young people away from drugs. He also announced Rs 51,000 from his discretionary fund for the organisers.
The event was the 27th edition of the four-day competition run by the Kotkhai Environment, Sports and Cultural Club. Athletes from across the state turned up to play volleyball and tug of war, along with Thoda, the traditional Himachali martial art and sport. A photo accompanying the report shows the minister joining a Thoda performance.
Singh said sport does more than build fitness. In his telling, it also teaches discipline, self-confidence, leadership and team spirit. When young people have a field to play on and a goal to chase, he argued, their energy goes somewhere useful, and social evils like drug addiction lose their pull.
The message matters in a state where families and officials regularly worry about substance abuse among the young. The minister's pitch is simple and practical: give teenagers and young adults a regular, organised activity close to home, and they have a reason to show up, train and stay engaged.
Singh also praised residents for backing the club and taking part in social work. Events like this, he said, strengthen community bonds and give local talent a stage. He singled out the club's annual tournaments for building a sports culture in rural areas, where formal facilities and big-city exposure are often thin.
Turning to politics, he said development work in the area had picked up speed under the present government, with roads and buildings being built at a steady pace. He added that education, sports and youth empowerment need to be promoted together for the state's overall development.
For the Kotkhai club, the Rs 51,000 grant is a boost to a tournament that has now run for 27 years. Whether such events can make a measurable dent in addiction is a bigger question, but for many villages, a packed ground and a loud tug-of-war crowd are a good place to start. Read the original report at The Tribune.
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