Bollywood actor Aamir Khan visited Ballarpur in Chandrapur district on August 4 to formally inaugurate the newly constructed Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium and to launch Mission Shakti, which is a sports initiative by Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. Needless to say, Aamir’s fans gathered at the stadium in huge numbers to catch a glimpse of their favourite star.

Mission Shakti has been conceptualised after the grand success of Mission Shourya, which was a joint initiative of the State Tribal Department and Chandrapur Collectorate to scale Mount Everest ? the tallest peak in the world.

As part of Mission Shourya, seven students successfully scaled Mount Everest in two separate conquests. Mission Shakti aims at training athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for international sports events like the Olympics. During the inaugural ceremony, Aamir felicitated the tribal mountaineers who scaled Mount Everest as part of Mission Shourya.

Emphasizing on the importance of sports, Aamir said, “I have forgotten everything about the academic part taught to me in the school, but I remember everything what I learnt because of sports. In fact, the passion for sports now guides me in my life”. Aamir also said that sports inculcates virtues like spirit, unity and discipline.