District-wise Tour of CIFA- Thums Up Rural
Games kicks off at Vatluru
Eluru District Collector
Incharge Durga Das inaugurates the Meet
• Thousands to witness the 2-day tour of CIFA-Thums
Up Rural Games
•
Vatluru is the second venue of the Games after Srikakulam
•
At least 500 participants are expected to participate in
various events such as Kabbadi over two days
•
Indian Red Cross is to organize free medical and health camp
Vatluru, May 26: The little hamlet of Vatluru is in a celebratory
mood with hundreds of farmers and their families participating
in games like Kabbadi and Sack Carrying Race after the District
Collector in charge, Durga Das inaugurated the Eluru district
meet of the CIFA-Thums Up Rural Games 2007 at the Zilla Parishad
High School Grounds here today.
Hundreds of farmers from Vatluru and nearby villages participated
in the colourful opening ceremony that marked the opening
of the district tour of the CIFA-Thums Up Rural Games 2007
organized by Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA)
and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. The meet moved to Vatluru
after successfully completing at Srikakulam. After the current
venue it will shift to over a dozen other venues in 11 more
districts during the next 10 days creating an unparalleled
opportunity for thousands of farmers to participate in rural
sporting games like Kabbadi, Sack Carrying Race, etc.
With the aim of offering the villagers healthy benefits,
the organizers have also brought in Indian Red Cross to conduct
a health and medical camp at the venue. A medical team comprising
doctors and support staff is camping at the site offering
free medical check up and advices to the people who participate
and witness various sporting activities.
The meet will see hundreds of players participating in Kabbadi,
Sack carrying race in Men’s category and Rangoli and
Short-distance races in Women’s category. The Kabaddi
winners will get a cash prize of Rs 5000 and a trophy, and
the runner-up will get Rs 2500 as cash prize. Winner of Sack
carrying race will get Rs 3000 as prize money and the runner-up
will go home with Rs 2000 cash prize.
Similarly, in women’s category, winner of the Rangoli
contest will get a cash prize of Rs 1000 and runner-up will
get Rs 500. Winner of the relay running competition will
bag Rs 2000 and runner-up team will get Rs 1500 as cash prize.
Winners of the district-level competitions will also move
to vie for the top honours at the State level scheduled for
the first week of June.
Bringing a carnival atmosphere to the Games, organizers
are offering a cultural evening to the villagers with local
participants tuning to popular songs and offering a feast
of mimicry and dance in front of large crowd of farmers and
their families.
The CIFA-Thums Up Rural Games is being organized with the
objectives to channelize energies of youth towards constructive
activities and to strengthen the social cohesiveness for
sustainable development in villages. It is also aimed at
inculcating interest in sports among rural youth and help
spot hidden talent among them, besides instilling pride of
achievement amongst the rural folk.