Newly-appointed Sports Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday visited various sports facilities around the Capital, including the National Dope Test Laboratory (NDTL), and took stock of the situation.
After the visit, Mr Singh said there was a need for more funds for development and upkeep of sports infrastructure in the country, a release from the ministry stated.
“For creating and upkeep of sports infrastructure in the country more funds are required and the Ministry is working towards generating such funds,” Mr Singh said.
The Minister also insisted that the “come and play scheme” was an excellent and innovative scheme for better utilisation of sports stadia.
Mr Singh, who was accompanied by Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, P K Deb, also interacted with some of the country’s top sportspersons, including double Olympics medal winner Sushil Kumar and London Games bronze medallist grappler Yogeshwar Dutt, during his visit.
He sought suggestions from them on how to further strengthen the sports infrastructure in the country to make it more user friendly with modern and state-of-the-art technology, the release added.
Mr Singh, meanwhile, lauded the efforts of NDTL for providing accurate testing facilities. He noted that the set-up was one of the 33 WADA accredited laboratories in the world and 6th in Asia.
He also informed that since 2010, NDTL has received about Rs. 5.5 crore as dope testing fee.
Apart from NDTL, the Minister visited Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex and Weightlifting Auditorium, Chhatrasal Stadium, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimmimg Pool Complex, Thyagraj Stadium and Siri Fort Sports Complex of Badminton and Squash.
