Patna, Jan 6 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced that the state government would soon create a 'sports department' to boost infrastructure and provide support to athletes.

He distributed appointment letters to 71 sportspersons of the state, who won medals in national and international events.

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"We have decided to create a separate sports department in Bihar to boost infrastructure and support athletes in their endeavour to win medals," he said.

At present, the sports wing is part of the art, culture and youth affairs department.

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"Now, a separate sports department will be created to facilitate talent ... and provide them international-level facilities for athletes in the state," Kumar said.

The Bihar government has decided to promote and encourage sports by giving direct jobs to sportspersons who won medals, he said.

"The state government has already formulated a policy for providing government jobs to medal winners- 'medal lao, naukari pao' (bring medal, get jobs)", he said.

The government has decided to provide jobs in administrative and police services to those sportspersons of the state, who will win medals in national and international sporting events.

The administration has already constructed 250 stadiums in all blocks in the state, he said, adding a sports academy of international level, apart from a cricket stadium and sports universities, was coming up in Rajgir.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)