Sports facilities to get a rejig in govt engineering colleges

CHENNAI: To encourage sports enthusiasts to participate at the national level, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to enhance sports facilities in all the State-run engineering colleges at the cost of Rs 80 crore.

A present, 11 government and 3 government-aided engineering colleges across the State with over 25,000 students.

A senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next that the present sports infrastructure facilities in government engineering colleges were not adequate to meet international standards. “Existing playgrounds were not maintained well enough to conduct national-level sports activities. The sports equipment was a bit too outdated,” he added.

The official explained that the infrastructure of open playgrounds will also be enhanced so that sports including cricket, football and hockey will be played. During the first phase, 10 government engineering colleges will be shortlisted for improvements in sports infrastructure.

“Special focus will be on constructing an indoor stadium. We’ll tie up with experts and prepare a detailed plan for each college. The indoor stadium will have facilities to conduct volleyball, basketball, badminton, kabaddi, table tennis and gymnastics,” he pointed out. “Outdated sports equipment will also be replaced to meet national and international standards. Purchase will be determined by the college’s requirement.”

There are also plans to construct swimming pools as a part of the improvement. “Additional hostel buildings will be constructed where players could also stay during a State or national-level sports meet in the institutions. Funding of Rs 30 crore has been allocated,” he said.