Home secy takes stock of sports infrastructure in JK

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba today reviewed the progress in development of various sports infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been witnessing series of violence in recent past, officials said.

Gauba took stock of the progress in augmenting sports infrastructure in the state, for which the central government had allocated several hundred crore rupees under the Prime Minister's Rs 80,000 crore development package for Jammu and Kashmir announced in November 2015, a home ministry official said.

Under the package, Rs 2,600 crore has been earmarked for human resource development, skill development and sports.

Centre's special representative for Kashmir talks Dineshwar Sharma, senior officials of the ministries of home, sports and state government attended the meeting.

Sharma is believed to have suggested that the Kashmiri youths continue to remain alienated and they can be encouraged to pursue their dreams through sports.

Another official said there are many Kashmiri youths who want to build their career through sports and they should be encouraged by providing proper sports infrastructure in the state.

"All Kashmiri youngsters are not just taking up arms and stones," the official said.

The meeting came a day after a tourist from Chennai was killed after he was hit on the head by a stone during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar.

Five Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including an assistant professor of the Kashmir University, were killed in an encounter in the Valley on Sunday.

Five civilians, who were staging protests near the encounter site, were also killed in clashes with security forces.