Coaches or clerks, SAI doesn146;t know the difference

It is a tragi-comedy scene for most of the Central Region coaches who are being forced to do clerical works as a result of the latest orders...

It is a tragi-comedy scene for most of the Central Region coaches who are being forced to do clerical works as a result of the latest orders passed by the Central Regional Centre of Sports Authority of India SAI.

These coaches were part of the mass transfers effected by the SAI recently. The scene may not be any different in other regional centres but in their over-enthusiasm to implement a 8216;8216;policy decision,8217;8217; the SAI top brass has acted hastily.

According to the directive issued by centre in charge A.K. Sharma, all the coaches deputed to the Central Regional Centre have been asked to report for duty at 9:30 a.m. everyday and sign the register until further orders.

A cursory look at the order, in possession of The Indian Express, proves beyond doubt what the coaches have been fearing since the transfers were effected last month. Of the 30 coaches posted at the central centre, 23 are doing mere clerical jobs, including looking after the stores, accounts, sales, schemes, and receipts and payments. Seven of them, however, should consider themselves lucky to have been assigned somewhat decent jobs, looking after training camps and teams.

For instance, gymnastics coach, J.R. Bhosle has been asked to look after the inventory. Football coach Sidhnath has been ordered to take care of sales and administrative work, along with badminton, weightlifting, judo and table tennis coaches.

The coaches, when they met the top brass, tried to impress upon the authorities the futility of posting them to places where they had little work. But the SAI bosses have been quite rigid over the issue, telling the coaches to first join at their place of posting before a review could be considered.

This may be the result of reacting, without assessing the ground realities, to the finance ministry threat to withdraw the funding if coaches posted at District Coaching Centres were not transferred to the State Coaching Centres.

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The coaches, meanwhile, are hoping that some tangible solution will be worked out after the matter comes up for discussion in Parliament tomorrow.