1st Ever Khelo India Para Games To Generate Pool Of Talent, Says Pramod Bhagat

by Swati Sucharita

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

After that meeting with the PM, we all hoped that a Khelo India Games will be held for para athletes too and I am very happy and excited that the first-ever Khelo India Para Games is set to begin in New Delhi this December.

New Delhi, Nov 28: Para Badminton star Pramod Bhagat lauded the efforts of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to host the first-ever Khelo India Para Games and believes that this initiative will boost India’s medal tally in major multi-discipline events such as the Olympics and Asian Games.

Bhagat currently is ranked world no.2 in para badminton men’s singles SL3, and won a gold medal at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. At the recent Hangzhou Asian Para Games, Bhagat clinched a gold in men’s singles, a bronze each in men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Bhagat said, “After the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with us (para athletes) just like he met with the able-bodied athletes. When he spoke with us, he had expressed that all sports are equal and I feel like we a reaping results because of this thought of the Prime Minister to provide equal opportunity to us.”

“After that meeting with the PM, we all hoped that a Khelo India Games will be held for para athletes too and I am very happy and excited that the first-ever Khelo India Para Games is set to begin in New Delhi this December. I certainly feel that Khelo India Para Games will further boost the para sports eco system in the country, help identify a larger talent pool and it will help increase the medal tally in upcoming Paralympics and Asian Para Games,” added Bhagat.

Bhagat further stated that, the Khelo India initiative has aided in developing a strong state-wise sports eco system with state governments promoting all disciplines in order to perform well in these annual Khelo India Games. Now with the inaugural edition of Khelo India Para Games, one can witness similar efforts by state governments to promote para sports. He said, “I believe this initiative will give a new future for para athletes. Earlier, para sports was mostly a national-level initiative but now under the Khelo India flagship, all states will also establish a strong system to promote para sports.”

Since 2018, a total of 11 Khelo India Games have been successfully held. This includes 5 Khelo India Youth Games, 3 Khelo India University Games and 3 Khelo India Winter Games. The first-ever Khelo India Para Games is scheduled to be held from 10th December to December 17.

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“I am very sure this platform will be well-utilised by para athletes. The Khelo India Para Games will definitely help in identifying many more talented para athletes and support them with TOPS scheme. In the recent Asian Para Games we finished 5th in the overall medal tally with 111 medal and I can vouch that the initiatives taken by the government will help us reach top 3 in the next Asian Para Games,” Bhagat asserted.

Over 1400 participants from across 32 states and union territories including Services Sports Control Board are expected to participate in the maiden Khelo India Para Games which will witness para athletes vie for honours in 7 disciplines including para athletics, para shooting, para archery, para football, para badminton, para table tennis and para weight lifting. The events will be held across 3 SAI stadiums – the IG Stadium, Shooting Range in Tughlaqabad and the JLN Stadium.

(IANS)

Odisha Celebrates ‘Nuakhai’ With Traditional Pomp And Gaiety

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, Sep 8: People of Odisha, mostly western and some southern parts of the State, are celebrating 'Nauakhai' festival, an agricultural festival that marks the beginning of new rice season, today with traditional pomp and gaiety.

The festival is observed on Panchami tithi (the fifth day) in the lunar fortnight of Bhadrapada or Bhaadra (August-September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

This year, the Nuakhai festival celebrations began with 'Nabanna' or new crop offering to Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur between 9 AM and 9.27 AM and 9.35 AM to 10 AM in Balangir district.

Nua means New and Khai means food so the newly harvested food is offered to the village Goddess by the people of Western Odisha.

After offering Nabanna to the Goddess, the food is distributed among people and they consume it together. After completing all the rituals, people prepare delicious food and celebrate this festival with great pomp and show.

On the day, each and every member of the family wear new dress and they greet each other, show affection and take blessings from the elderly members of the family. This ritual is popularly known as 'Nuakhai Juhar'.

People staying outside visit their houses during the festival. An ambience of religious fervour is marked everywhere in western Odisha during the festival.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP, Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries extended greetings to the people of Western Odisha and wished Nuakhai – the unique festival of love, devotion and harmony to bring happiness, peace and prosperity to all.

Marking the occasion, CM Majhi will launch the CM Kisan Yojana from Sambalpur today.

The landless farmers who were not covered under PM Kisan Yojana will get the benefit of CM Kisan scheme. Around Rs 4,000 will be given to farmers as assistance in two phases. In the first phase, i.e., on Nuakhai, the farmers will get Rs 2000, and on Akshaya Tritiya, they will receive the remaining half, officials said.

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Lucknow Building Collapse: Death Toll Climbs To 8, 3 More Bodies

by Hemanta Pande

Lucknow, Sep 8: The death toll in the building collapse here climbed to eight, with rescuers pulling out three more bodies from the debris, officials said on Sunday.

Twenty-eight people were injured when the three-storey building housing godowns and a motor workshop collapsed in the Transport Nagar area here on Saturday evening.

Police said the building was constructed around four years ago and some construction work was underway at the time of the incident. Most of the victims were working on the ground floor when the incident occurred at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

The operation is still underway.

A senior district administration official said they are now focusing on ensuring that no one else is trapped under the rubble.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered the bodies of three people, who were identified as Raj Kishore (27), Rudra Yadav (24) and Jagrup Singh (35), during the rescue operation, Relief Commissioner G.S. Naveen said on Sunday.

The injured have been admitted to various hospitals, including Lok Bandhu Hospital, in the district.

According to the officials, the building had a motor workshop and warehouse on the ground floor, a medical godown on the first floor and a cutlery warehouse on the second floor.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed district officials to accelerate relief efforts and ensure that those injured in the incident are immediately taken to the hospital and given appropriate medical care.

"Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the building collapse incident in Transport Nagar, Lucknow,” the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO) wrote on X on Saturday.

"The Chief Minister has directed the district administration officials, SDRF, and NDRF teams to reach the site and expedite the relief work, ensuring that the injured are immediately taken to the hospital for proper treatment. He also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Defence Minister and Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, Rajnath Singh, has expressed his sorrow over the deaths.

Taking to X, Rajnath Singh on Saturday said, "The news of the collapse of a building in Lucknow is extremely painful. I have spoken to the District Magistrate of Lucknow over the phone and got information about the situation at the spot. The local administration is carrying out relief and rescue operations on the spot and is engaged in helping the victims in every possible way." (IANS)

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1st Ever Khelo India Para Games To Generate Pool Of Talent, Says Pramod Bhagat

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