March 25, 2021
*Shri Kiren Rijiju* *Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports* *Government of India* *Dear Rijiju ji,* It is with a great sense of dismay and distress that we are addressing this letter to you. Having been deeply anguished and agitated by the deplorable manner in which the so-called “National Para Athletics Championship” is being conducted at Bengaluru and having been flooded with complaints of varying natures, we are compelled to beseech you and seek your intervention. Originally scheduled to be held at Chennai, the venue was changed at the last minute to Bengaluru. This eleventh hour alteration was necessitated by the non-receipt of permission to hold the event at Chennai. While the games were slated to commence from March 24, the notice for change was put out as late as March 20, 2021, just four days earlier. It is obvious that the Paralympic Committee of India had announced the venue and schedule without bothering to get the requisite clearances beforehand. What would have happened if Karnataka had not agreed to play host, is anyone’s guess. Coming from poor economic backgrounds, most of these athletes were already finding it difficult to manage things, without sponsors and support from concerned sporting bodies, when many of them learnt on reaching Chennai of the change. Many were midway through their journey. It would be difficult to comprehend the immense difficulties these sports persons were put to, additionally due to their disabilities, owing to the total arrogance and apathy on the part of the organisers. More travails awaited them at Bengaluru. Events were not taking place as per the announced schedule. Athletes were made to wait for hours together for their event to happen. There are also complaints that in certain events, categories were merged together merely to scale down the number of events. An example is of the merger of the F/56 & F/57 shot put categories for women. Certain participants have also protested in writing against the merger. Participants are complaining that no rules and regulations are being followed at the championship. We are in receipt of video clippings showing the continuation of some events even after sunset without adequate lighting, in the dark, using torchlights and mobile phone torches. This in unprecedented in sporting history. It is demeaning and amounts to belittling the athletes and virtually the entire championship. There are also complaints that no new-classification was done for this championship, which is against established norms. While, it was announced that only sportspersons who had participated in previous national championships would be allowed to participate, it is alleged that many new comers were also allowed. While, new talent should be welcomed and encouraged, many of those who could not reach Bengaluru due to the earlier decision were deprived of the opportunity, however deplorable the conditions in which the events are being held. In addition, a registration fee of Rs. 2000/- was also being levied by the PCI from participants, which, you will concur, is an extra burden on the athletes. Those responsible for such reprehensible conduct should not be allowed to go scot free. They should be held accountable. The agony, trauma and physical hardships, apart from monetary losses that these sports persons had to suffer is immense. It has been a nightmare for many. They have to be compensated. Apart from other things, the PCI has for years been mired in charges of corruption and nepotism. The expectation in some quarters that now with a para sportsperson at its helm, things will change for the better, has been totally belied. The conduct of these games is reminiscent of an earlier national event at Ghaziabad in 2015. We do not seem to have learnt from that experience and continue to treat para sports/sportspersons in the most undignified, insensitive and callous manner. The fiasco at Ghaziabad led to the PCI being disbanded. A similar action is called for urgently. At the same time, the new body that would replace it, should be constituted through a democratic mechanism. In this process, all stake holders including the sportspersons and organisations working among disabled persons need to be consulted. Our para sportspersons have brought laurels to the country. In the last event held in Rio, Brazil, they had returned with four medals. We need to take forward these achievements. For this, apart from adequate financial support, necessary infrastructure and democratically elected sporting bodies which act as the fulcrum, are a prerequisite. To reiterate, those responsible should be held accountable and adequate compensation should be paid to the athletes who were put to great distress. We hope that in the interest of para sports and sportspersons, you will act decisively. Yours sincerely *Muralidharan* *General Secretary* *National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled* -- National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) 36, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Lane New Delhi 110 001 Tel. 11-23387674; 9868768543 -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. 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