IEP Chandigarh, February 25
Haryana, which is called the power house of sports, is once again ready for a mega sports event. The 26th All India Forest Sports Meet is going to be organized soon in the state. Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal released the ‘Logo and Mascot’ of the 26th All India Forest Sports Meet at his residence Sant Kabir Kutir today. School Education and Forest Minister, Sh. Kanwar Pal was also present on the occasion.
Sh. Manohar Lal said it is a matter of pride that Haryana is the host of the 26th All India Forest Sports Meet. Prior to this, the sports meet has been successfully organized twice in Haryana; 10th meet in the year 2003 and 13th meet in 2013. This time the sports meet will be organized from March 10 to 14, in which about 2,500 participants from all the states, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Union Territories and Forest Research are expected to participate. Different sports teams will be formed by appointing players to the post of Forest Guard in Group C in the Forest Department. The Chief Minister named the mascot of the sports meet as Krish.
Notably, the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, organizes the All India Forests Sports Meet on an annual basis; the responsibility of which is assigned to a state. With the aim to promote sports in the Forest Department, the 1st All India Forest Sports Meet was organized at Hyderabad in the year 1993 and till date, this meet has been organized 25 times.
Haryana’s culture and progress depicted in logo
The logo for the meet prominently displays ‘Black Buck’ – a magnificent animal that finds prominent place in our history and culture and is also the state animal of Haryana. The state map in the logo depicts that Haryana, which is hosting the sports meet is at the forefront of sports and one of the fast-progressing states in all fields.
The images between the spokes of the circle of the logo indicate the sports meet; popular events that will be played and also the popular games in Haryana. The leaves on the upper part signify the forest fraternity. In Indian mythology, black buck is considered the charioteer of Lord Krishna and is also described as the chariot of Vayu (the wind god), and Chandra (the moon god) at some places.
Competitions will be held at Tau Devi Lal Stadium among other places
The main venue for the 26th All India Forest Sports Meet will be Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector-3, Panchkula. Most of the events will be organised in the stadium which include athletic events like race, walk, relays, hurdles, discuss throw, javelin throw, hammer throw, long jump, high jump, shot put, triple Jump; indoor games like badminton, carom, table tennis, chess and field games including basketball, cricket, hockey, kabaddi, volleyball and tug of war.
Apart from this, golf will be played at Golf Club, Sector-3, Panchkula, while lawn tennis, bridge, snookers, billiard and squash will be played at Gymkhana Club, Sector- 6, Panchkula. Archery competition will be held at sports ground, Panjab University, Chandigarh and the shooting event will be organised at Shooting Range, Chandigarh. Further, weight lifting competition will be held at Government College, Sector 1, Panchkula.
285 types of games in sports meet
There will be about 285 different sports events that will be played in the meet in open, veteran and senior veteran categories; both for men and women participants. While everyone can participate in the open category, the veteran and senior veteran categories have been made especially for participants above 45 and 52 years of age respectively. About 2,500 participants comprising 43 teams from 36 states and Union territories and 7 research institutes and organizations are expected to participate in the sports meet.
Separate committees have been constituted for arrangements including transport, catering, reception, accommodation and cleaning, for the event. The salient feature is that the sports meet will be plastic-free and logos of G-20 and Life (Life Style for Environment) will be prominently displayed at the venues.
On the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary, Sh. Ankur Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Sh. Vineet Garg, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V. Umashankar, Additional Principal Secretary, Dr. Amit Agrawal, Sports Director, Sh. Pankaj Nain and senior officials of the forest department were present.
