Karnataka's national medallists lament step-motherly treatment shown by government

BANGALORE: Chief minister Siddaramaiah's recent announcement of Rs 1 crore for the Ranji Trophy-winning Karnataka team has come as a shocker for some of the top sportspersons from the state.
These national medalists from various sports disciplines, who were promised cash awards (Rs 1 lakh for an individual gold) for their achievements in 2012 and 2013, were kept in wait by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) due to paucity of funds.The DYES claims it is awaiting grants from the finance ministry, which is under Siddaramaiah's charge.
"We are clearing the backlog and the remaining awards will be given away soon," DYES director Vikash Kumar Vikash said, hinting that there is a shortage of funds to implement the programs.
Meanwhile, sports minister K Abhayachandra Jain was not clear about the shortage of funds in the DYES coffers and said his department will disburse the money. "The CM has announced the reward money and we will give it from the funds in DYES," the minister told TOI.
Former athlete Ashwini Nachappa lamented the shabby treatment shown to other sports. "We are always given step-motherly treatment. It's a big achievement (Ranji title) and we need to applaud them but there are other children doing the same. There should be equal treatment for all sports and this will be demoralizing for them."
Top rifle shooter and national champion Rakesh Manpat, who competes with the likes of Olympians Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, argued if cricketers are rewarded for winning the title after 15 years, why is he being ignored, even after becoming the first shooter from the state to win the national title.
"I met the Karnataka sports minister about three months ago. He said he could not help me but only the CM could and added that he himself had been waiting to meet the CM for the last 18 days!" Manpat said.
The shooter said Karnataka has failed to honour its top achievers. "Rahi (Sarnobat) won a World Cup medal and was awarded Rs 1 crore by the Maharashtra government. State shooter PN Prakash also won a World Cup medal but what did he get? All we seek is fair treatment based on merit for all national champions," he said.
Chess ace MS Thej Kumar revealed his request for a grant of Rs 6 lakh is still pending. "I had met the DYES officials last July for funds to buy a laptop and for specialized training, but my request for a grant of Rs 5-6 lakh is still pending with the government," Kumar, who is in the race to become Karnataka's first Grandmaster, said.
According to DYES, they are unable to provide any funds for training as there is no such scheme. "At present, we don't have a scheme to support sportspersons during training. We have noticed this and are working on a new scheme," the official said.
Asian Games bronze medalist Pramila Aiyappa said it is wrong that the government is differentiating between sports. "For winning a medal at the Asian Games, I got Rs 6 lakh and here for winning a national title, each cricketer is getting around Rs 10 lakh from the government. Many young athletes were disturbed to help this and such announcements will only help in killing other sports," she said.
According to a retired DYES official, the largesse from the CM would have sufficed to increase the daily allowance of the trainees at the sports hostels across the state. "At present it is only Rs 100 for fifth to seventh standard students 7 and Rs 125 for those in standard 8 and above. The CM should show the same interest to improve their plight," he said. "A crore of rupees would have been enough to build 4-5 indoor basketball, kabaddi courts or to buy nearly 70-75 sports cycles," he added.
(with inputs from Naheed Ataulla)