Sports minister flags off marathon for slum youths

In an initiative to boost sports in the city’s slum clusters, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel, legendary boxer Mary Kom, and MP Bhupender Yadav flagged off the Slum Yuva Daud on Friday. 

The marathon began from the Shankarlal Hall of Delhi University (DU) at 6:30 am and concluded at the Rugby Stadium. As many as 5,000 youths from various slums of Delhi participated in the marathon, which was organised to kick off Goel’s ‘Adopt a Slum’ campaign. 

Goel himself has adopted the Indra slum in Timarpur. Similar marathons will later be organised at Wazirpur, Model Town, Adarsh Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Burari, and some other areas.

“This would enable us to get to know about the youths’ skills and ideas. We would organise mini-fests in slums with themes such as Swachhta, Digital India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and so on. We will aim at creating model slums and groups of youths, who will work as agents of change and will be responsible for the development of their respective areas,” Goel said while addressing the participants. 

The sports minister further said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was committed to the cause of weaker sections. “Initiatives such as these aim at resolving various social and economic issues,” Goel said.

Meanwhile, renowned boxer Mary Kom said, “Our youth has tremendous potential to bring changes in the society. We must work tirelessly to hone their skills.”

‘Adopt a Slum’

The marathon was organised not only to promote sports, but also to kick off Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel’s ‘Adopt A Slum’ campaign. 
The minister himself has adopted Indra slum in Timarpur. He’s set to hold similar events in other slums to get more sponsors to adopt slums under this campaign.