Amaravati: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to take the ensuing Play Andhra Pradesh sports festival prestigiously. He also instructed the officials to work towards developing cricket and other sports in the State for encouraging the youth.

Reviewing the steps being taken for conducting the sports festival at a high level meeting here on Thursday, the Chief Minister said the village to State level events should bring out the hidden sports talent in villages.

Officials apprised him of the steps being taken to conduct the event at village, mandal, district, constituency and State levels.

While organizing the event in a prestigious manner, the festival should inspire others, he said, adding that special teams should be formed to conduct the event successfully. Apart from providing good lodging and boarding facilities to the participants, ensure that all famous sports persons from the State take part in the event, he said.

Emphasizing the necessity of taking all possible steps to encourage cricket and other sports in the State, he asked the officials to work towards establishing a modern cricket stadium in Visakhapatnam.

“Once this is done, the present YSR stadium in Visakhapatnam should be developed as a centre of excellence for sports,” he said, asking them to take forward this proposal.

Stating that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team has come forward to develop cricket in the State, he directed the officials to take steps for establishing Cricket Academies at Kadapa, Tirupati, Mangalagiri and Visakhaptnam.

Chief Secretary Dr KS Jawahar Reddy, Principal Secretary (Youth Services & Sports) Dr G. Vani Mohan, Finance Secretary N. Guljar, Sports Authority of AP (SAAP) Chairman B. Siddharth Reddy and VC and MD K. Harshavardhan and senior officials were present.

Also Read: CM YS Jagan Lays Foundation For 3 Companies; Inaugurates Godrej Agrovet