Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Concerned over the poor state of India’s national game hockey, sports minister MS Gill has urged the industry big wigs to bail the national sport out of its financial crisis.
"Hockey is India's spiritual game and it is also the
responsibility of the bodies like FICCI and ASSOCHAM to help
the game with financial assistance," Gill said in his address
during the "Brand: CWG Delhi 2010", Opportunities and
Strategies for Sustainable Games conference here.
"You (industry bodies) do something, try and support the
game. You can easily come forward with cash, training
equipments or adopt by any other means to help the game. You
have the capability of putting money is immense," Gill said.
Gill, meanwhile, said that the other demands of hockey
players, which includes salary, match fees, gradation system
and daily allowance among others can only be solved after the
much-awaited February 7 elections of Hockey India.
"All I know is that the February 7 elections should be
clear, transparent and acceptable to India, not me.
"But as soon as the new elected body is formed, I will
personally sit with them and try to sort out other problems of
the hockey players," he said.
Minister also voiced it’s concern over the poor state of the Yamuna, Sports Minister M S Gill today wondered whether the authorities will have to stop foreign visitors from going near the river during the Commonwealth Games here in October.
"Having turned into a drain, Yamuna is a horror today,"
Gill said at the 'Brand: CWG Delhi 2010' event organised by
industry association ASSOCHAM.
"With such a high level of pollution we might have to
prevent all our foreign visitors from going near the river,"
the minister said.
Noting that all efforts undertaken to cleanse the river
were proving futile, he said, "On the one hand, we call rivers
like Yamuna as our religious symbols from which we try to gain
spiritual comfort but on the other hand we use them as drains
for our city."
"Yamuna is a horror and we are surprised that we still
have religious relation with it as also rivers like Ganga but
we do little to protect our religious symbols," he said while
elaborating on various steps being taken to spruce up the city
during the mega sports event.
"Over 10,000 athletes besides lakhs of tourists are
expected to descend on Delhi to watch the event. Hence we need
to be a good host and present the city's best features," the
minister added.
Gill also expressed his disappointment over the
industry's failure to prevent effluent discharge into the
river. The industry has a role to play in keeping the
Yamuna clean, he noted.
As many as 18 drains in the city are flowing into the
Yamuna, adding to the municipal sewage and industrial
effluents which are mainly responsible for water-borne
diseases as well degradation of water quality.
First Published: Friday, January 22, 2010, 20:28