Several corporators from the Guntur Municipal Corporation boycotted the Aadudam Andhra Programme that was launched by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday. The chief minister formally launched the programme in Loyola Public School at Nallapadu in Guntur district amid much fanfare.
The corporators reached the school to participate in the programme. However, the police stopped them from entering the school stating that they have no permission. The corporators tried to contact their MLAs and Ministers in vain. As the police did not allow them to walk into the school, they boycotted the event and went back to the city.
The state government would be conducting sports and games across the state till February 10. The government would hold events in cricket, basketball, volleyball, kabaddi, kho kho and badminton from village level to mandal and district level. The government would hold a major event at the state level at the end of the event.
The event is being organised to promote talent in the state. Those who excel in the events would be promoted to join the national teams of these games. The government wants to bring out the hidden talent from the rural youth using the Aadudam Andhra programme.
Meanwhile, the students and youth affiliated to the opposition TDP held a protest in Guntur city opposing the launch of the Aadudam Andhra by the chief minister. They wanted to know where the playgrounds are and asked the chief minister to provide playgrounds before asking them to play.
They alleged that the government had destroyed the stadiums in the state and neglected the sports and games. Every stadium in the state is being used for some purpose or the other and not the games, they said.
They also alleged that the government had conveniently ignored the plight of the unemployed youth in the state. They wanted to know why the state government had not released the job calendar as promised by the chief minister. They asked the chief minister not to betray the students and youth by providing them jobs.
Jagan declares open Aadudam Andhra
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy declared open the 47-day sports festival Aadudam Andhra that would be held across the State till Feb 10, 2024.
As part of the inauguration, the Chief Minister handed over the Aadudam Andhra torch to the players who went round the ground amidst cheers by the spectators. After releasing balloons into the air, he also administered the oath to players and handed them over sports kits.
Inaugurating the sports festival at the Loyola Public School grounds here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that Government has decided to organise Aadudam Andhra with two objectives in mind and it would become yet another milestone in the State history,
While the first objective is that it would serve as a massive fitness exercise for the youth and help them maintain good physical fitness, it would also help the Government identify the talented youth so that further steps would be taken to encourage them.
Throughout the festival which would be held in more than 9000 school, college, university and SAAP (Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh) playgrounds, an awareness campaign would be launched on the necessity of physical exercises that could help control blood pressure and sugar levels, he said.
The event would be held in December every year, the Chief Minister said, and added that sports competitions would be held at the village, mandal, district, constituency and State level.
Players from professional teams like Chennai Super Kings and Andhra Cricket Association have come forward to witness the Cricket matches, identify the talented youth and train and encourage them further.
Similarly, international players Kidambi Srikant and PV Sindhu have come forward to help identify the talented youth in badminton while Prime Volleyball and Pro Kabaddi have also come forward to spot the talented in the respective areas, he said.
Soon, Kidambi Srikant and PV Sindhu will also launch their Badminton Academies for training the youth in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati where the Government has allotted necessary land. The talented youth would be encouraged at the national and international levels, he said.
He said that 34 lakh youth have come to participate in the sports events in all while more than 1.20crore people have registered to attend and watch the sports festival across the State.
The Chief Minister went round the ground and mingled with the players interacting with them and examining the kits. He took stance and played some cricket shots after which he also played badminton with the players for a while.
Sports and Tourism Minister RK Roja, SAAP Chairman B Siddharth Reddy and senior officials also participated in the programme.
