Andrauli in Himachal Pradesh set to be water sports hub

Andrauli area of Una district would be developed as a major water sports destination, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh said on Monday.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 22nd All India Police Water Sports Competition, the PWD and youth services and sports minister said Andrauli has a lot of potential for water sports and assured efforts would be made to make it a centre of water sports.

He said despite not having a team of Himachal Pradesh Police in water sports, DGP Sanjay Kundu successfully conducted the competition and made a good start with a new thinking. He said the government will provide full cooperation for raising a police team to compete in water sports.

A provision will also be made in the state budget, he added. Chairman All India Sports Control Board Arvind Kumar thanked the Himachal Pradesh Police for organising the competition. DGP Kundu urged the sports minister to develop Andrauli in a way that national and international water sport events can be conducted.

Rowing, canoeing and kayaking competitions were organised during this competition. More than 450 competitors, including 10 teams of women sports enthusiasts, from 19 different states and central police forces participated in the five-day event.

In the women's canoeing competition, the ITBP team won, while the SSB team was the runner-up. In the women's kayaking event, the SSB bagged the first place while the ITBP came second.

The ITBP was the winner in the women's rowing competition, while the Assam Rifles was the runner-up. The BSF team lifted the men's kayaking trophy and the ITBP was the runner-up. The BSF team was the winner and the ITBP team was the runner-up in the canoeing event.

In the men's rowing competition, the Punjab team was the winner and the ITBP team was the runner-up.