The Assam government has decided to observe Bhogeswar Baruah’s birthday on September 3 as the Sports Day and announced to increase the pension for the sportspersons, sports organisers and technical personnel, officials said here on Friday.
Arjun awardee Baruah is the first Assamese to win a gold medal at an international event. He was the winner of the coveted medal in an 800-metre running event in the 1966 Asian Games.
A senior official of the Assam’s Sports and Youth Affairs Department said the state cabinet on Thursday at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma decided to increase the regular monthly sports pension from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 for sportspersons, organisers and technical officials.
The cabinet also decided to provide the life lifetime pension of Rs 10,000 per month to medal winners in national and international sports competitions.
One time financial assistance of Rs 50,000 is to be given to medal winners who are in employment, the official said.
Assam’s 23-year-old ace boxer Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze medal in the recent Tokyo Olympics.
The Assam government has offered Lovlina the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police along with a cash reward of Rs 1 crore.
The state government has also announced that a road in Guwahati would be renamed after her and a sports complex would be built in her Assembly constituency, Sarupathar, at a cost of Rs 25 crore.
