Dehradun, August 29
Beijing Olympic gold medallist and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has his roots in Uttarakhand because of his family’s association with Dehradun. But tragically, the association ends there.

The lackadaisical attitude of successive state governments towards sports has become a discouraging factor for budding sportsmen of the state.

In the last nine years since Uttarakhand state was formed, sportspersons and sports organisations have been waiting endlessly for the state government to take some initiative in giving a push to sports.

Despite the fact that sportspersons of the state have constantly performed commendably at various national and international-level events, the state government is yet to come up with the much-awaited sports policy that would have given necessary direction to sports in the region.

All these years, state governments did little to promote sports. There has been no addition to sports infrastructure in Uttarakhand.

While the state government had announced that it would give handsome awards to players who perform well at the international level, encouraging sports activities at grassroots level is still a far cry.

Coaches, the backbone of sports in any state, fare the worst in Uttarakhand. Ad-hoc coaches in the state are very lowly paid.

A coach with an NIS certificate is paid Rs 1,200 per month by the Uttarakhand government. An international player, who is into coaching, receives a sum of Rs 1,500 per month. Similarly, a North Zone player gets Rs 800 per month. On the other hand, a neighbouring state like Uttar Pradesh pay a decent sum of money to its players and coaches.

The non-serious attitude of the government towards sports can be gauged from the fact that the state government has not provided for a proper cricket stadium.

A large number of cricketers from Uttarakhand play from other states at present. Even the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, originally belongs to Uttarakhand.

The existence of more than one association in certain games has turned the state into a battleground for associations which proclaim themselves to the legitimate authorities in a particular sport.

A struggle is on between various cricket associations in the state to obtain the BCCI affiliation. These claims have made the BCCI delay the affiliation process for years. Finally, the associations have been called by the BCCI to sort out the matter.

On the other hand, the construction of an international cricket stadium at Parade Ground is lying in cold storage for the past five years.

The inauguration stone for its construction is a testimony to the complacent attitude towards sports of the authorities. In 2004, the then Chief Minister, ND Tiwari, had laid the foundation stone.

Even the then Sports Minister Preetam Singh had repeatedly committed himself to the promotion of sports.

But despite the Congress government completing its full five-year term, little was achieved by the government vis-à-vis the promotion of sports.

While every district in the state has a small-time stadium, but the state capital has no stadium. The players in the state capital have been vociferously raising their concern for a stadium for quite some time.

Sports like boxing that once got adequate patronage due to the presence of a large number of military establishments in the region is on a decline due to the lack of facilities despite some good performances by pugilists of the state at international events.

Durga Thapa, international boxing referee, said, “Boxing needs promotion at the grassroots level.”

She said that boxing is an indoor sport but there exists no indoor stadium for the game except at Maharana Pratap Sport College, Dehradun. As a result, practice sessions of players get disturbed during the rainy season.

Many sportspersons of the state have given commendable performances at various levels. Apart from ace shooters Abhinav Bindra and Jaspal Rana, pugilists like Jagat Bilal, Kamala Bisht, Priyanka Chaudhari and Poonam, Manish Maithan in football have made their mark both at national and international events. Raksha Pawar is the under-14 girls Indian football team captain from Dehradun.

The badminton court at the multipurpose hall at Parade Ground is badly maintained. During a tournament held recently, players had openly complained to the organisers about the poor lighting facilities at the hall. The hall is also devoid of any generators.

Ravinder Singh, a NIS cricket coach based at Dehradun, argues that the government should provide basic facilities to sportsmen at lower levels rather than going for cash incentives for already established players.

He expressed apprehension over the recent announcement by the government to provide Rs 75 lakh to state players winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

He said that in a country like India winning a gold in Olympics is very rare. The government should instead invest at the grassroots level and create basic sports facilities for budding sportsmen.

Referring to ever-growing problem of a large number of associations for a particular game, Ravinder Singh said it was only proving harmful for players.

The players are the ultimate losers in the process as they are forced to opt for one association and become part of the inter-association politics.

Dehradun, August 29
Replete with deft symbols, Anil Goswami’s paintings speak volumes about the inner self - the part that is invisible but plays a major role in directing our lives.

On display at Uttarakhand Gramin Bank art gallery, his 17 paintings, mostly in black and white, celebrate the artistes quest for self-realisation and perfection.

Staging his fourth show in Doon, a product of Viswa Bharti, Shantiniketan, Anil Goswami said: “It was not easy to go solo; as a relatively young painter I had to be very sure of the theme. I know that the ideas I put forth will be scrutinized and put to question, but it has been worth the effort. It requires courage and fair degree of confidence to come out in the open.”

Goswami’s choice of themes have a dramatic effect and more often than not he has been questioned for the profusion of symbolism that abound in all his paintings. “I am a contemporary artiste carrying forward the Indian tradition of intellect and spirituality, but at the same time I am attempting something different. Indian artistes are known for the use of colours but I am comfortable with black and white.”

Yes, there are no shades of grey in Goswami’s colour palate and the choice too is deliberate, in keeping with the thoughts and ideas that he wants to convey, “The black and white colours have a ring of finality; they go well with my theme of inner well-being. One can only emerge a winner by balancing the contradictions of the outside world and the self. All my paintings pay tribute to the human beings proclivity to juggle through life while maintaining mental equilibrium,” explained Anil.

It was his stay at Shantinektan, West Bengal, that finally helped the painter blossom. “For the greater part, we were on our own; the school encourages autonomous learning which is quite helpful,” said Goswami, whose medium ismostly acrylic.

As far as the future is concerned, Anil is planning to experiment with monochromes and texture.

Dehradun, August 29
Promoter and chairman of insurance and healthcare company Max India, Analjit Singh is setting up a 5-star hotel in Dehradun.

For this, he has entered into a tie-p with EIH Limited, the flagship company of PRS Oberoi Group.

Secretary, Tourism Uttarakhand Utpal Kumar Singh said that they have heard about the proposed move through informal channels.

“I can’t say anything at this stage as the proposal has not reached us formally as yet.

“But we will provide full support in any venture of this kind,” he said.

This is the third proposal to set up a 5-star hotel in the state.

The proposals by Emaar-MGF and shooter Abhinav Bindra are already in pipeline.

Though Singh is yet to formally announce this, chairman of Oberoi Group had disclosed the move to their shareholders at the annual general body meeting held on August 20 at Kolkata.

The company had signed a management contract to operate a 100-key 5-star hotel here under the company’s 5-star brand Trident, he informed.

But it is learnt that the proposed luxury hotel may come up on Mussoorie Road. Singh is chairman of Board of Governors, Doon School.

Singh is reportedly foraying into hospitality industry in his personal capacity.

The diversification move has nothing to do with his listed company Max India.

Under the contract, he will be the owner of the hotel property while Oberoi group will manage it.

It will be positioned as leisure and business hotel targeting tourists and corporate world.

As of now, Jaypee Residency at Mussoorie is the only 5-star hotel in the state having tourism at the mainstay of its economy. 

Dehradun, August 29
The inter-section quiz competition was held at RIMC here recently. Teams from all four sections participated with confidence and enthusiasm.

Every section consisted of a team of four members comprising a captain and rest three members selected by the participating teams.

The quizmaster for the day was PK Sharma, along with Cdt Sabyasachi Mishra, Cdt Arpit Sangwan, Cdt Vaishak Madhusudan and Cdt Aditya Udupa, being the respective captains for each section. However, the quiz was based on subjects covering science, mental ability, current affairs, environment, sports, RIMC round, audio, visual and a general awareness round.

The venue for the competition was Thimayya Auditorium. The chief guest of the evening Lt Col Rajesh Nathawat, Officiating Commandant, RIMC.

However, giving a tough competition to other teams, first position was bagged by Pratap section scoring 112 points, followed by Chandragupta section with 61 points and Shivaji section with 57 points, last position was bagged by Ranjit section with 49 points.

The chief guest congratulated the winners and appreciated the efforts of the participants.