GORAKHPUR The picturesque Ramgarh Taal in Gorakhpur, which is a major tourist attraction and home to several migratory birds, will see the debut of rowing competition (from May 25 to 31) in the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) being held in Uttar Pradesh.
The organisers will provide boats, while athletes will use their oars for the competition. The competition in both men and women’s categories will be held in different events.
“All necessary arrangements have been made to conduct the water sports event at the lake,” Sudhir Sharma, competition director of rowing discipline said, adding, “The four-lane 2km course will see the cream of college-going rowers in action during the week-long action-packed event.”
District authorities have decided to arrange tours of the athletes to the world famous Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur and Mahaparinirvana Temple in Kushinagar. The programme has been planned in accordance with the aspirations of chief minister Yogi Adityanath to make the event memorable, grand and multidimensional.
On Wednesday, district magistrate Krishna Karunesh reviewed preprations for the event, saying the rowing championship would be the launch pad for branding of Gorakhpur and adjoining districts for promotion of tourism.
The teams have started reaching Gorakhpur while school children have been invited to witness the rowing competition beginning May 27.
{{/usCountry}}The teams have started reaching Gorakhpur while school children have been invited to witness the rowing competition beginning May 27.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the municipal corporation has deployed hundreds of employees for 24x7 sanitation around the venue of the championship, to make it a ‘zero-waste’ event.
To further enhance the potential for religious and sports tourism in Gorakhpur, the Gorakhpur Development Authority (GDA) has decided to develop a sports city in the district soon. The GDA has planned the sports city on over 25 acres of land under the Rapti Nagar extension plan. A team of engineers would visit Mumbai and Bengaluru to derive an idea to draft the blueprint of the proposed sports city. Inputs from ANI