Ministry babus make Swuro run for a just reward

You maybe an international medal-winner, but if you happen to hail from a faraway state, you are likely to be running from pillar to post just to get your due reward

You maybe an international medal-winner, but if you happen to hail from a faraway state, you are likely to be running from pillar to post just to get your due reward. Going by what ace Indian women archer Chekrovolu Swuro faced, this seems only a matter of fact.

Swuro, who hails from Nagaland and is employed with Nagaland Police, received a cheque of Rs 1.75 lakh on June 30, 2006, from the Sports Ministry for her performance in the Asian Archery Championships and the Golden Arrow European Grand Prix the previous year. Swuro bagged a bronze in the Asian Championships and a silver medal in the Golden Arrow GP.

Incidentally, the day she received the cheque was also the last day of the validity period of the cheque.

In other words, the cheque took that many months to reach Kohima, capital of Nagaland, from Delhi. And since the validity period of the cheque had expired by the time she submitted it, the money couldn’t be transferred to Swuro’s account.

If you had been wondering why every UPSC, SSC, Railways or Banking Board recruitment adverts come with a note that candidates from the North-east, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep can submit their forms 15 or 20 days after their counterparts from the rest of India, now you know. Probably this deadline needs extension.

When Swuro brought this lapse to the notice of the government, it promised to hand her a fresh cheque without delay.

Well, that was in July 2006. A year has passed, and Swuro is yet to get a fresh cheque, despite repeated reminders to the people in the Ministry.

Story continues below this ad

“Every time I met them, they said I can collect it the next day. That next day never arrived. This exercise has been on for a year now. Whenever I am in Delhi I go to the Mi-nistry but nothing happens,” lamented Swuro.

She has made it a habit of sorts. Whenever in Delhi, Swuro would visit the ministry. She is part of the world championships team that left for Leipzig (Germany) last night. “The cheque is not ready,” was the curt reply from the official.

“I was very hopeful of getting the cheque this time because when I met Joint Secretary I Srinivas during my last visit five months ago, he promised that I will be able to collect it whenever I came to Delhi next. But I drew a blank again on Wednesday,” Swuro said.

When contacted Srinivas countered: “The cheque is very much ready and is with drawing and disbursing official Champak Lal. She can come and pick it up any time. In case she faces any problem, she can always come to me. In fact, we got the cheque prepared some time back but we didn’t deliberately send it by post because I had requested her to collect it personally when she came to Delhi,” added Srinivas.