Minister Priyank Kharge launching the poster of the Kalaburagi Sports Habba in Kalaburagi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Kalaburagi will host a three-day ‘Sports Habba’ from September 24 to 26 to promote sporting culture among students and youth and provide local athletes a platform to compete and showcase their talent, Home, IT-BT and e-Governance Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday.Mr. Kharge was speaking after unveiling the logo and promotional video of the event at a programme organised jointly by the district administration, the zilla panchayat, the School Education Department, the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, and the Kalaburagi Next Foundation.The Sports Habba will feature competitions in football, cricket, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, chess and a marathon. The events will be conducted in association with Bengaluru-based Sprenzo and local sports associations.The initiative will combine professional sports management with digital technology and wider public participation. Registration will be online, while the schedules, live scores and results will be available on a digital platform. Fan zones will also be created at venues to enable the public to follow the competitions.Mr. Kharge said the event was intended to lay the foundation for a stronger sporting ecosystem in Kalaburagi and position the district as a sports hub. The government also proposed to hold major sporting events in the district every year in association with State-level sports federations.Infrastructure boostSports infrastructure is also being expanded, he said. Works estimated at ₹20 crore are under way at the Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium, while a blueprint has been prepared for a Sports City.An indoor stadium being built exclusively for women is in the final stages of construction and would be inaugurated shortly, Mr. Kharge said.The Kalaburagi Next Foundation, set up to support educational, scientific, and sporting development in the district, has mobilised about ₹3.5 crore in donations. Functioning under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, it will focus on harnessing the potential of the youth and human resources for the district’s development.Mr. Kharge described the foundation as a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country and said it would provide a platform for development-oriented initiatives.Legislators Allamprabhu Patil, Kaneez Fatima, Jagadev Guttedar and Tippannappa Kamaknoor; Kalaburagi Urban Development Authority chairman Mazhar Alam Khan, Mayor Varsha Jane, Deputy Commissioner Ikram Shareef, City Police Commissioner S.D. Sharanappa, Superintendent of Police Adduru Srinivasulu, Zilla Panchayat CEO Rahul Sankanoor and other officials were present. Published - August 15, 2026 07:47 pm IST
