Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 252/21

RYNTIH SPORTS AND CULTURAL CLUB ACCORDED WARM SENT OFF

Meghalaya Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Shri Banteidor Lyngdoh today accorded a warm sent off to the team members of Ryntih Sports and Cultural Club who are all set to participate in the Hero League Qualifiers, which will take place in Bangalore from October 4-25, 2021.The programme organised by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya was held at the VIP Gallery at JN Sports Complex, Polo.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Banteidor Lyngdoh reiterated the need to revive the football scene in the State. Lamenting the fact that many football clubs of the State have not been able to sustain themselves over the years due to financial constraints, he said the lack of Government support has further aggravated the problem. Hence, he announced cash incentives to Football Cubs of the State to the tune of 10 lakhs for those qualifying for 2nd Division I-League, 40 Lakhs for those qualifying for I-League and 1 Cr for those qualifying for the Indian Super League. He further informed that a tender amounting to 34 Cr has been called for the up-gradation of the J N Sports Complex which will include replacing artificial with natural turf and state of the art upgradation of the overall facilities within the complex. An indoor multipurpose sports complex will also be constructed on the 5th ground costing about 100 Cr. The Complex will house facilities like swimming pool, basketball, tennis courts and many other indoor games facilities. Such initiatives will also be taken in different Districts so as to hone the skills of the youth of the State and give them a platform to showcase their prowess. Besides football, the Government is also dedicated to uplift and support disciplines like boxing, archery, athletics etc, which will go a long way in developing the sportspersons of the State.

The Minister also shared words of encouragement for the members of Ryntih Sports and Cultural Club and reiterated the importance of team spirit and a fighting spirit to achieve their goals.

Later, the Minister also handed over a cheque amounting to 2 lakhs for the Ryntih Sports and Cultural Club, which will be followed by the remaining 8 lakhs in due course of time

Press Release No. 257/21

ACHIEVEMENT OF STATE FOOD SAFETY INDEX-2020-21 IN THE STATE OF MEGHALAYA

Under the Provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is mandated to provide safe, nutritious and wholesome food to the Consumers in the Country. And the responsibility to ensure safe food to the Consumers in the States is upon the Commissioner of Food Safety of the States/UTs.

Food Safety and healthy diets are critical in the Context of India’s high burden of food borne diseases, under nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and growing incidence of obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD). Actions on several fronts and involvement of many stakeholders is needed to ensure that the people have access to safe and healthy food. Awareness and educating the people on Food Safety and Nutrition is need of the hour. In this backdrop, the “Eat Right India” movement was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Eat Right India is a collective effort of key stakeholders and citizen and the key themes are Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Sustainable.

Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of Regulatory, Capacity Buildings, Collaborative and Empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is good for the Consumers.

With this background the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has initiated the State Food Safety Index through which a Comprehensive Assessment of the States could be made through healthy Competition among the States of similar categories.

The State Food Safety Index was first started in the year 2018-19 on the occasion of World Food Safety Day on 7th June 2019. The States are assessed based on parameters of Food Safety Ecosystem.

The recently announced State Food Safety Index was based on the performance of the State of Meghalaya during the year 2020-21. Efforts were made to be on Top in the categories of smaller states in the country, however, in view of the above activities and the performances in the state of Meghalaya during the year 2020-21,in the implementation of the Food Safety Initiatives under Food Safety Eco-System in the state, Meghalaya is Ranked Second in the State Food Safety Index among the smaller States in the Country.This was announced at a programme at the FSSAI,Headquarter, New Delhi which was attended and handed over by Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya,Union Minister, Health and F W , Govt of India.

Shri James P.K.Sangma, Hon’ble Minister in charge Health and F W Deptt etc expressed happiness on the achievement of the Commissionerate of Food Safety(Health and F W Deptt),Meghalaya and congratulated the concerned Officials.