Minister for Transport and Sports Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy inaugurating the district-level vollyball tournament at Rayachoti of Annamayya district on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

“Sports and games play a vital role in transforming an individual into a responsible citizen with perfect mental and physical well-being. The students and youth should participate in them,” observed Minister for Transport, Youth and Sports Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy.

The Minister on Sunday inaugurated the Annamayya district-level volleyball tournament at the Government High School grounds here, organised with funding from the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Nehru Yuva Kendra.

Addressing the participants and coaches, Mr. Ramprasad Reddy urged the students to give equal importance to sports and academics.

The Minister said that the Chandrababu Naidu government was committed to promoting rural sports to bring out the hidden talent among the students and youth. “The State government has been introducing several welfare schemes to promote the sportive spirit among students. This includes building infrastructure like construction of stadiums and creating grounds in all the government schools,” Mr. Ramprasad Reddy said.

The Minister said that the Union government-sponsored competitions would give cash prizes, merit certificates and medals to the winners and participants.

Vaccination for cattle

In another event, the Minister unveiled a publicity poster for the prevention of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in cattle at the Government Junior College grounds in Rayachoti. He said that the government had come out with a plethora of schemes for empowering the dairy farmers in the State, particularly in the Rayalaseema region.

The campaign, scheduled from March 1 to 30, has the target to insulate the cattle from the impact of viral infections. He said that the dairy farmers should utilise the monthly drive under the guidance of veterinary staff. He said that the vaccination for the cattle would be administered at the doorsteps of the farmers.