15 lakh youth to participate in Guj organised ``Khel Mahakumbh``

Ahmedabad : In a bid to encourage sporting activities in the state, the Gujarat government has organised ``khel mahakumbh`` as a part of state``s golden jubilee year celebrations in which nearly 16 lakh youths will participate. "The mega sporting event will start from November 20th and will end on December 15, in which competitions will be held for 16 different games," State Sports Minister Fakir Vaghela told reporters here on Wednesday. The event will start at panchayat level, then it will be played at taluka level and those who qualify will play at the district level. Individuals and teams qualifying at district level will then play at state level competitions."The event is being organised to inculcate the spirit of sports in the youths of the state by which people will also be aware of maintaining physical fitness," Vaghela said. "The total expense of the event will be around Rs 65 crore out of which prize money to be distributed to winners at various levels will be Rs 23 crore," Vaghela said. "So far 15.90 lakh boys and girls have registered themselves for the sporting event which will be one of the biggest in the country in terms of people participating in it," Vaghela said. The state government has also organised a grand chess function in which over 20,000 people will gather at the Sardar Patel Staduim here and play chess in presence of world champion Vishwanathan Anand on December 24, he said."The chess competition will be organised to help people develop interest in the game," Vaghela said. PTI