Khelo India State Center of Excellence for Rowing in Murky Water, scientific staff get paid for idling time

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Srinagar, Oct 28: A group of scientific staff including a dietitian are being paid for sitting idle at Khelo India State Center of Excellence for Rowing in Srinagar for more than 18 months.

Despite having "no residential wing facility" at the centre in Srinagar, appointed scientific staff members are entitled to a monthly salary estimated to over Rs 6 lakhs per month that Sports Authority of India (SAI) headquarter in Delhi sanctions.

When the centre was inaugurated in 2021, one dietitian; one physio and two strength and conditioning staff members were appointed to oversee the functioning of the water sports facility at Srinagar's Dal Lake. Currently, there is no rowing coach at the centre.

"It is strange! Salary is being given to officials at Srinagar Water Sports Centre for no work. Instead, the government should give monthly scholarships to young players of the state," one of the players from Srinagar told Mykhel over the phone. "The players are struggling due to a lack of financial support, but some officials are getting money for no work."

Top officials from Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and SAI were reluctant to throw light on why the rowing centre in Srinagar wasn't functioning on expected lines.

On April 10, 2021, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing at Water Sports Academy of Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council in Srinagar.

Then the ceremony was attended by Manoj Sinha, Lt. Governor and Alok Kumar, Secretary of Youth Services of Jammu and Kashmir, among others.

Under the scheme, SAI (sports ministry) was to pay for salary and other expenditures including equipment while Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council was to provide logical support, including appointing local experts for the smooth functioning of the Khelo India project.

Sarmad Hafeez, a senior official of Jammu and Kashmir said the water sports centre in Srinagar was going on expected lines but was reluctant to share the number of players at the centre. "I can't speak to you over the phone," was Hafeez's response to this portal.

While Amar Jyoti, a senior SAI official overseeing the Khelo India vertical said, she would get back later. Till (Sunday) evening she didn't respond to text messages about the rowing centre in Srinagar.

Forty local school and college rowing enthusiasts, including 20 in the girls' group were shortlisted for the project, said an official familiar with the development. A rowing coach Vikram Sharma was appointed. Later, due to official red tapism, a rowing coach from Punjab quit his job.

Currently, there is no coach and hardly any players come for practice. "We often met Lt. Governor and other top officials to provide accommodation facilities to outstation rowers. But nothing happened so far. The players stopped coming as they had to come from far-off places," one of the officials associated with the Khelo India project in Srinagar revealed.

A first-time grant of Rs 1.45 crore was sanctioned by SAI and a recurring grant of Rs 96 lakh was also approved for the Khelo India project in Srinagar. A consolidated amount of Rs five crores was approved by SAI for two centres including one in Jammu. Incidentally, the other centre in Jammu is also not functioning.

Khelo India State Center of Excellence is one of the verticals of SAI to promote Olympic disciplines across the country. There are more than 20 Khelo India State Center of Excellence centres spread across the country. "Majority of them are not running on expected lines. There is a proposal to review the entire project," one of the SAI officials associated with the scheme said.

Later kayaking canoeing events were also added to the project in Srinagar. But the above two disciplines didn't attract local players. Srinagar-based Nuzhat Gul, one of the officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council wasn't available for her comments.