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| The new sports council on Utkal University campus at Vani Vihar in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture |
Bhubaneswar, July 23: Utkal University has got on the fast track to promote sports and physical fitness among students with the opening of a full-fledged sports council on its campus.
This facility will enable the varsity to conduct national-level inter-university tournaments without any hitch.
“The old sports council was as good as non-existent. It had run from a dingy garage-like building with an asbestos roof for about four decades and used to remain locked for the better part of the year. As a result, we could not offer boarding facilities to students coming from outside the state to take part in various tournaments. It can also be used by students in all our affiliate colleges,” said director of the Utkal sports council Jayant Kumar Parida.
A varsity official said the new complex, spread over nearly 6,000sqft, would have space for table tennis as well as separate outdoor courts for badminton and volleyball.
There is also a proposal to start lawn tennis and yoga classes for students and staff members within a few months. The campus already houses a gymnasium for postgraduate (PG) students. The PG Athletic Club manages it.
Parida said the Association of Indian Universities was now considering Utkal as a prospective host for national inter-university kho-kho tournament for boys and girls, and the new complex would address the problem of accommodating players.
“The central public works department converted an existing building of the university into a sports facility, which has 10 spacious rooms and a big hall. The university bore expenses of nearly Rs 32 lakh for the purpose,” he said.
The focus at the moment, however, is on starting self-defense training for girl students of the university from the coming academic session in August.
In January, the University Grants Commission instructed authorities of higher education institutions across the country to beef up security for girls and women on their respective campuses following the gang rape of a medical intern in a moving bus in New Delhi last December.
Chairman of the PG council P.K. Mishra said he had issued a circular to heads of departments and hostel superintendents to comply with the commission’s guidelines.
“We will also raise the height of the boundary walls and intensify patrolling on campus. But, all these steps have to be supplemented by martial arts lessons, which will equip girls with the power and expertise to protect themselves in adverse situations,” he said.