Udharbond: Minister Kaushik Rai announced a grant of Rs.30 lakh for the infrastructure development of the Udharbond Table Tennis Club. He made the announcement on Sunday morning at a felicitation programme held at the club’s indoor sports complex.

The minister praised the club’s tireless efforts in promoting sports, especially in taking table tennis from the Barak Valley to the national stage. Addressing a packed hall, Rai said the Table Tennis Club has been doing excellent work for the development of sports in the region for the past several decades.

He added that the present government gives special importance to sports, and supporting such institutions is a shared responsibility.

Recalling his last visit to the club nearly eleven years ago with then union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Rai said that the indoor complex had just been constructed at that time, though some work remained incomplete.

With the Assembly elections approaching, he noted that major projects may not be possible at the moment. However, he announced that Rs.30 lakh would be released on an urgent basis from the Barak Development Department for infrastructure improvement.

He assured that the sanction would be completed before the election notification and promised to finish the remaining work after the elections.

The Udharbond Table Tennis Club also felicitated Rai on the completion of one successful year in the state cabinet. In the presence of club president Somnath Deb, the minister was presented with a citation and memento by Deb, secretary Kallol Das, and members including Bishnupada Paul, Keshav Das, Umashankar Bhattacharjee, Prabhakar Deb Majumdar, Shubharaj Deb, Shankar Dey, and others.

Also present at the programme were former club president Suryakumar Sharma, noted educationist Kshaunish Chakraborty, and senior club advisor Bijendra Prasad Singh. After the programme, the minister inspected the club’s infrastructure and interacted with young paddlers of the academy.

Promotional | North East Integration Rally