DHARWAD: Home minister G Parameshwara said that the state government has decided to provide five per cent reservation for sportspersons in the recruitments of police department.Speaking after distributing medals to the winners at the valedictory of the third edition of the State Olympics at R N Shetty stadium here on Friday,the minister, said the government would do everything possible to encourage sports and the sportspersons.Stressing the need for providing better facilities and training for sportsmen to make them perform well in international sports events, the minister said the state government has been making budgetary provisions for creating sports facilities of international standards. The state has synthetic tracks in 13 stadiums but they are not sufficient. He asked the president of the Karnataka State Olympics Association Govindraj to get more funds from the chief minister and provide synthetic tracks in another eight stadiums during next financial year.Appoint PE teachersParameshwar regretted that the sports activities in schools and colleges have become mere formality and students lack serious coaching. He said most of the schools and colleges in the state do not have physical education teachers and in the absence of employment opportunities, the youths are not opting for BPEd and DPEd courses. As a result the physical education colleges are facing the threat of closure.He asked the sports and youth empowerment minister to initiate steps to appoint physical education teachers in all schools and colleges. "Every educational institution should have a physical education instructors" he said.Firing rangeThe home minister announced that his department will ensure construction of a firing range in Dharwad during next academic year. He called upon corporate houses to encourage sportspersons by providing employment or by adopting them. Mere allocation of funds under the Corporate Social Responsibility is not enough, he asserted.Rural development and panchayat raj minister H K Patil said the sports organizations like KOA should ensure that the state games are held on regular basis and by rotation in different regions of the state to maintain regional balance. This will help creation of sports facilities in all parts of the state, he added.Sports and youth empowerment minister Pramod Madhwaraj , district minister Vinay Kulkarni, KOA president Govindraj and deputy commissioner S B Bommanahalli spoke.

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