Gogoi now rushes into award for cricketers

Two days ago, as Team India defeated Pakistan in the first one-day international cricket match at the Nehru Stadium...

Two days ago, as Team India defeated Pakistan in the first one-day international cricket match at the Nehru Stadium here, the first thing that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi did was to declare a cash award of Rs 1 lakh to each of the Indian team members.

What is surprising is that the Assam Government is yet to disburse cash awards that Gogoi had announced for each of the 148 players from Assam who had won medals in the 33rd National Games held here in February.

Assam had won 38 gold, 53 silver and 27 bronze medals in the National Games and became the overall third best team, Gogoi had announced Rs 3 lakh, Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh each for the gold, silver and bronze medallists, respectively, in individual events. For team events, the awards announced were Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.

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“I have been looking forward to the money after putting in so much of hard work,” says Kalpana Choudhury, who had won a gold in the women’s 48-kg boxing. For a player like Kalpana, Rs 3 lakh is a big amount, especially because she has to look after a big family. “My father was a farmer who can’t work now because of old age. My younger brother is still in school. And above all, my elder sister, who lost her husband, lives with us with her three kids,” she said.

Equally sore is Anal Kashyap, well-known table tennis player, who had won one individual silver and a mixed-doubles bronze. “Every time I am in Guwahati, I go to the sports directorate to find out if the money has come. You feel depressed,” said Anal, from a coaching camp in Kolkata.

Fariha Zaman, a top-ranking swimmer, is waiting for as much as Rs 8 lakh. “My daughter had won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal. I need about Rs 5 lakh a year to train her. When my wife Salima met the Chief Minister recently, he asked her to wait because the Government did not have enough funds now,” said Fariha’s father Nekibuz Zaman.

“It is a bad thing that has happened. The players had brought laurels for the state in February itself. And you have hardly three or four months left for the 34th National Games. It is definitely demoralising,” said Muruli Choudhury, president of Assam Wushu Association.

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“It is true that the Chief Minister had announced cash rewards for the 148 sportspersons who had won medals for the state in the 33rd National Games as part of the policy of encouraging sportspersons. The process of giving away the cash rewards is on, and we hope to fix a date either later this month or in the first part of December for the purpose,” said Dhruba Hazarika, director, sports and youth welfare, Assam.

He said the Department of Sports had already moved necessary files to the Finance department for release of the funds because the sum is not going to come from the regular sports budget or general budget of the state Government.

The sports director, however, dismissed reports that the Government had made a false promise, and said the Government did not want to just send off cheques to the players by post or individually. “The Chief Minister has asked the department to fix a suitable date and arrange a function in order to ceremonially give away the cheques to the players,” the director told The Indian Express on Wednesday.

Coaches of the medal-winning players and teams of the state would also be given Rs 50,000 each, with Hazarika pointing out that total sum worked out to Rs 3.97 crore.