KATHMANDU: Hari Babu Chaudhary has been appointed as the Member Secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC) here today.

Youth and Sports Minister assigned Chaudhary for the top post of Nepal’s sports governing body this evening. A cabinet meeting on Wednesday had appointed Chaudhary as the NSC board member following a recommendation from Youth and Sports Minister Ganesh Nepali. The newly appointed Member Secretary is scheduled to join the office from Friday. Ten more members are yet to be appointed by the ministry. “Hopefully, the next cabinet meeting will appoint the remaining members in the NSC board,” said minister Nepali.

Joint Secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry Bishnu Prasad Lamshal has been working as the acting Member Secretary since July 30 after Jeevan Ram Shrestha resigned on July 23. A CPN-UML alternative committee member Shrestha stepped down from the post after the Ministry fell to Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP).

The former Inspector General of the National Investigation Department, Chaudhary is a central committee member of the (TMLP). Speaking to The Himalayan Times, Chaudhary said his top priority at the moment would be the 11th South Asian Games (SAG). “This is a new responsibility for me. So, I was considering to take stocks of the Nepali sports with the officials as to how we can prepare for the South Asian Games,” he said.

Chaudhary joined Nepal Police as an Assistant Sub Inspector in 1969. He was promoted to Inspector before being transferred to the National Intelligence Agency (now renamed as National Investigation Department). The 60-year-old Chaudhary retired from the department in 2000.