Chief minister Hemant Soren handed over appointment letters to 24 newly recruited district sports officers (DSOs) on Thursday, the first time such a group was being hired in the state, and asked them to dedicate themselves for the promotion of sports at the grassroots level.
Speaking at the function at Project Building, Hemant said, “Jharkhand is renowned in the world for its mineral richness. But it’s time to also unlock its sporting potential before the global audience by churning out national international level players from the immense pool of talent that exists in our state.”
He added that soon after coming to power, his government had begun working on a new sports policy to provide jobs and cash awards to all deserving players and coaches. “I have already given my nod to the new sports policy and it is currently awaiting a cabinet nod,” he said, announcing that before Durga Puja, the sports department will also launch a dedicated portal to address the needs of the state’s sports fraternity.
“The purpose of the portal is to have a holistic database of our sporting talent, coaches and technical officials and also provide them a direct interface to engage with the government for their needs. We hope to launch the portal before Durga Puja,” he said.
The post of district sports officer is key to implementing government schemes at the grassroots to nurture talent. Sports secretary Pooja Singhal said that because of the unavailability of DSOs, the post was held on dual charge by non-sports officials. “As a result, we faced lots of problems in timely implementation of infrastructural schemes related to sports, conduct of games, processing of scholarships, among others. All that is expected to be resolved now,” she said.
Singhal said DSOs were selected by Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC). “Today, we have also given them their place of posting which was finalised through an on-the-spot lottery in the presence of the chief minister,” she said.
The entire sports fraternity of the state hailed the appointments. Jharkhand Diploma Coaches Association (JDCA) hoped that the new officers would ensure a fresh wave of sporting culture in the state. A joint secretary of the outfit, Yogesh Yadav said, “Today is a historic day for Jharkhand sports. For the first time DSOs have been appointed.”
Shivendra Dubey, an official of Jharkhand Olympic Association (JOA), welcomed the appointments. “We now hope that once the pandemic is over, every district will be abuzz with sporting activities round the clock,” he said.