Agartala: Union sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has sanctioned Rs 40 crore to develop sports infrastructure in Tripura.

Tripura sports minister Manoj Kanti Deb visited him in New Delhi on Saturday and requested support to develop the state.

Gymnastics coach and Arjuna awardee Bisweswar Nandi welcomed and congratulated the new government for their approach to develop sport and said he was hopeful of more sportsmen making it to the big arena. Nandi's protégé, Dipa Karmakar, is a renowned gymnast and an Olympian.

He said there is need for more equipment and proper grounds for training of gymnasts and other athletes in Tripura. "We also need new instructors and equipment. I am happy to see sports being given due importance," the coach said.

Tripura Umpires Association Secretary Prashanta Chakraborty too welcomed the move and said the fund assurance was "very good news". "If properly utilised, the funds would be of great help to budding sportspersons. We could do with an international stadium, athletics tracks and a well furnished gymnasium," he said.

Deb, who also holds the food and civil supplies portfolio, met Union food minister C.R. Choudhary and requested him to procure foodgrain from farmers in Tripura at a minimum support price.

The Union minister assured him that foodgrain would be procured from the state and distributed through fair price shops. He also assured him that he would consider a proposal of supplying sugar and lentils through fair price shops at subsidised rates. According to an estimate, sugar subsidies needed for supplies through fair price shops would involve over Rs 65 crore annually. Sugar supplies were stopped in fair price shops from May last year.

Deb discussed a host of proposals for strengthening the public distribution system and related issues which were promised by the BJP before the February Assembly polls in the state.