September 25, 2008:Atal Behari Vajpayee Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, has been granted recognition as National Sports Institute by the Government of India. This was revealed by Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, on receipt of a communication from Dr. M.S.Gill, Union Minister of Youth Services and Sports, here today.
Chief Minister said that the state government had taken up the matter of granting recognition to the Institute as National Level Sports Institute, which had been conducting winter games of national and international standard every year besides undertaking training courses in adventure sports and allied activities of the youth during summer season. He said that recently the state government had changed the name of the institute to be known as Atal Behari Vajpayee Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in honour of the former Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had chosen Himachal Pradesh to be his second home. He said that Shri Vajpayee always longs to spend vacations in his home at Prini village in Manali and the local people recognize him as their neighbour.
Prof. Dhumal said that with the recognition of the institution, more mountaineering and allied sports activities would be taking place in the state. He said that the institute had its wings at Dharamshala and Narkanda, which had also been conducting courses in skiing, winter games and other adventurous activities. He said that the players trained by the institute had been participating in the national and international events and brought laurels to the state. He said that the institute had also been rendering yeoman service during the winter season, especially in carrying the rescue and relief operations during the winter season in the snow bound areas. He added that the institute had quality infrastructure to cater to the international level training programmes and had been inviting world’s best trainers to train the state youth in different winter games. He hoped that with the recognition as national institute, the state would be recognized at the international-level for organizing the winter games as also to train the state youth, to compete in the international winter sports events.