Patna: Officials from various sports associations in Bihar, led by the Bihar Olympic Association, met with Sports Minister Surendra Mehta at Vikas Bhawan. The discussions aimed to establish harmony between the Sports Department and the sports associations.
During the meeting, officials apprised the minister of the problems related to their respective sports. They discussed the activities of the Bihar State Sports Authority in detail. Except for the Bihar Athletics Association, all the sports associations demanded the transfer of the current Director-cum-Secretary and the appointment of an officer from the Bihar Administrative Service, as was previously the practice. Additionally, they called for an inquiry into the circumstances under which an Indian Police Service officer was appointed. There was strong opposition to the preferential treatment given by the Bihar State Sports Authority to select sports associations.
The associations emphasized that the state government’s primary role should be to develop infrastructure and provide modern equipment for sports, rather than organizing sports events, except for school sports. They raised concerns about the misuse of significant funds in the name of leagues, which they urged to be stopped immediately. In the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, crores of rupees allocated for sports grants, sports welfare funds, and sports equipment did not benefit the sports associations and players as intended but were spent on other items.
The Sports Minister was also invited to a sports seminar organized by the Bihar Olympic Association. Key attendees included Md Mustaq Ahmed, Secretary of Bihar Olympic Association; Imtiaz Hussain, Secretary of Bihar Football Association; Ramashish Prasad Singh, Secretary of Bihar Volleyball Association; Kumar Vijay from Bihar Kabaddi Association; Dr. Kaushal Kishore Singh, Secretary of Cycling Association of Bihar; Pankaj Kumar, President of Bihar Handball Association; Brajkishore Sharma, Secretary of Bihar Handball Association; Manoj Kumar, Secretary of Bihar Archery Association; Ram Vilas Pandey, Secretary of Bihar Swimming Association; Ram Uday Singh, Secretary of Bihar Judo Association; Gauri Shankar, Secretary of Bihar Ball Badminton Association; Santosh Kumar Singh, Secretary of Bihar Netball Association; and Avinash Kumar from Squash Racket Association. Representatives from the Badminton, Basketball, Lawnball, Triathlon, Taekwondo, and Mallakhamb associations were also present.
