Chennai: The state govt on Thursday affirmed its commitment to establishing Olympic centres of excellence to produce Olympic medal winners and position Tamil Nadu as India’s leading sporting powerhouse.Addressing the assembly, Governor R V Arlekar said, “These world-class centres will offer athletes the finest training infrastructure, elite coaching, cutting-edge sports science, performance analytics, and comprehensive athlete development.” He also said the govt would support transgender persons through skill development training, formation of self-help groups, assistance in securing employment and livelihood opportunities, and support for creating housing facilities.On water management, the govt announced that a programme to maintain lakes and ponds would be implemented every year to improve groundwater levels and conserve water during the monsoon. It also said intensive efforts would be made to implement river-linking projects, beginning with the interlinking of rivers within Tamil Nadu, while urging the Centre to interlink rivers in the southern states.EOM//
