Karnataka to host Khelo India University Games 2021
Bengaluru, Feb 21: Karnataka will host the second Khelo India University Games (KIUG) later this year, state chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Games to be held in the city-based Jain University and other venues, Rijiju told a press conference here.
"We have decided that the second edition of Khelo India University Games will be given to Karnataka and the university is Jain University," he said, in the presence of Yediyurappa and state Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister K C Narayana Gowda.
The union minister said he was confident that the Jain University would organise one of the best university games in the country's history.
It would be held in partnership with Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
KIUG is the largest University Games in the country and is aimed at tapping sporting talent, who can represent India in international events, including the Olympics.
The first edition of KIUG was held in Bhubaneswar in February last year and saw a total participation of 3,182 athletes in the U-25 age group, across 158 universities and colleges from all states.
This year, Yogasana and Mallakhamb have been added to the roster, with an effort to preserve and promote the century-old sporting disciplines of the country.
With the inclusion of these disciplines, the athlete participation figure is expected to cross 4000, this year.
Earlier in the day, Rijiju visited Shivamogga where he announced a Rs 50 crore project comprising a multi-purpose sports centre of high standards in the district.
Rijiju underlined that a large and young country like India with the highest number of young people in the world must be in the top rank in the Olympics in the future.
"India cannot afford to be satisfied with one or two medals. We Indians have talents, Indians have all the potential but unfortunately we could not focus, we lacked vision in the past," he pointed out.
The Minister explained that the Centre has also started indigenous games and recognised five indigenous games, which are Malkhamb, Kallaripayattu, Gatka, Thang Ta and Yogasana.
"We are going to provide lots of funding of indigenous sports. We have to play international sports and we have to play our traditional indigenous sports," he added.
Rijiju said the state will have many facilities similar to the Sports Authority of India facility in Bengaluru.
Yediyurappa said about 150 universities are likely to participate in the event.
The sports meet will be organised at the Kanteerava Stadium and hockey matches will be organised at the General Cariappa Hockey Stadium. All the arrangements will be borne by the state government and the university, the Chief Minister said.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
