MANGALORE: The Karnataka State Government intends to set up regional sports centre at Mangalore and Raichur and is expected to make an announcement in this regard in the forthcoming State budget, Mr. K.C. Ramamurthy, Director-General, Sports Authority of Karnataka, and Commissioner of Youth Services and Sports, said here on Tuesday.

The government intends to set aside Rs.10 crore for the proposed facilities.

In an informal chat with The Hindu, Mr. Ramamurthy said the revenue authorities in the districts concerned would be asked to set aside 20 acres of land for these facilities. These sports centres would give much-needed fillip to identifying talents and nurturing them, he noted.

In addition, the government has also decided to set up sports schools in all 27 districts of Karnataka. Students studying in fifth to seventh standards would be enrolled in to these schools and given necessary training in various sporting disciplines along with their regular education. These students could then move to the regional sports centre functioning at Kudige and Vidyanagar for further specialized training, he added.

Stating that sports school were yet up to be set up at Dharwad, Shimoga and Dakshina Kannada districts, Mr. Ramamurthy said they would serve as a feeding schools for the existing and proposed regional sports centre.

Mr. Ramamurthy added that the regional centre and the sports school would supplement efforts of Sports Authority of India, which is taking steps on its own to augment sports facilities in the state, he added.

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