Sub: Letters to Editor Rejoinder to the news report Governors pleasure is others pain that appeared in the Gomantak Times issue dated 24-05-2006.
We, the members of the Evening Badminton Club were surprised, nay shocked, to read the news report in the Gomantak Times dated 24-05-2006 titled Governors pleasure is others pain. It was mentioned in that report that when the Governor turns up at the Indoor Stadium to play badminton, those who are playing are told to wrap up their games and are not allowed to play any further until he leaves. It was also stated therein that people are not allowed entry or access in the stadium during the Governors sojourn. To suggest that the averments in the report have even a grain of truth in them is to fly in the face of facts. There are around 20 of us who are members of this Evening Badminton Club and who frequent the stadium during the Governors scheduled time. Each one of us can vouch for the inaccuracies contained in this report. We have been regularly playing at the stadium for the past several years and the Governor is a regular visitor for the last 1 year or so. During this period, the Governor and his security Officers have been very cordial to all of us. It becomes therefore necessary that, in order to set the records straight, we must point out the falsities in the report. There are 4 badminton Courts in the stadium and the Governor occupies just one of them, playing doubles matches. Several times, our members too team up to play along with him while other players play on the remaining 3 Courts. We agree that many-a-times, a couple of Courts are empty; but this has less to do with the Governors security officers restraining others from playing and more to do with the pathetic state of badminton affairs in the State. To mention a few facts, at the Advance Coaching Camp that was recently held in the Indoor Stadium, there were just 7 young players who were a part of it. Moreover, there is a very low response to the badminton tournaments that are held every year and the participation level too is quite poor. This itself speaks volumes as to how crippled this game has become. There are hardly any youngsters who seem to be getting attracted towards this game. The reasons are plenty: lack of professional approach, not sufficient money and incentives in the game, lack of promotion at the school and grass root level, etc. Yes, there is a need for eyebrows to be raised, for noises to be made, but surely, lets not take the easy way out by blaming the Governor for the woes that befall this beautiful game. Reporting with civic clarity is a journalist's primary duty. The journalist who penned the report seems to have relied simply upon one photograph in which the other Courts may have been vacant at that particular time; and used vivid imaginations to come to strange conclusions, with perhaps the sole intention to create some sort of sensationalism. The Governor is a thorough gentleman. Very recently, all the members of the Evening Badminton club were invited by him to the Raj Bhavan for a tea party during which we shared an interesting tête-à-tête with him. A tour of the Raj Bhavan precinct followed immediately thereafter. Being a responsible newspaper, we trust that you should refrain from leveling such kinds of false, baseless and unsporting allegations against a genuine sports enthusiast. Rather than being a Pain as mentioned in your report, the Governor, who makes it a point to come to the Indoor stadium on a nearly daily basis despite being 75 years of age, is a great source of inspiration to all the players at the stadium. Yours sincerely Members of Evening Badminton Club __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)