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67th National School Games: ‘Rat-infested rooms, toilets sans doors’: Athletes, coaches decry poor conditions
The participants complained of subpar conditions, including rat-infested classrooms used for accommodation, doorless washrooms, and unclean bedding and linen. Punjab education minister Harjot Bains inaugurated the 67th National School Games at the Punjab Agricultural University on Saturday.
Players and coaches who have come here for the 67th National School Games that commenced in the district on Saturday rued lack of proper lodging facilities. As many as 2,000 participants, including coaches, are staying in 32 schools of the district.
The participants complained of subpar conditions, including rat-infested classrooms used for accommodation, doorless washrooms, and unclean bedding and linen.
Punjab education minister Harjot Bains inaugurated the 67th National School Games at the Punjab Agricultural University on Saturday.
The invitation from the office of the president, School Games Federation of India, outlined accommodation guidelines, specifying three-star or equivalent lodging for players, coaches, and officials. However, coaches, sporting staff, chief-de-mission, president, and general secretary claimed that they were instructed to stay with students in the school rooms assigned to their teams.
JS Sidhu, in-charge of the Navodaya Schools team, said, “The accommodation given to us would qualify for a minus rating. Nineteen players and a coach have been allotted a single room. Not only that, the unhygienic and rat-infested room gave us a sleepless night and the washrooms are extremely dirty. They could have at least maintained hygiene.”
Players and coaches claimed that school washrooms are located quite far from the classrooms, making it a challenging task for students to use them in the middle of the night.
Sudip Gosh, coach of the West Bengal team, rued the poor accommodation, saying, “Apart from being dirty, there are no doors in the washroom in the school where our boys’ team and their coaches are staying. We cannot lock our rooms as they do not have latches. We commute thrice a day from Bharat Nagar to PAU school for meals. In such cold weather, it would have been better if they provided us with food where we are staying.”
A woman coach accompanying the Uttar Pradesh team said, “The bedding and linen given to us are dirty. Everyone, including the coach in-charge and players, were sleeping on the floor in this biting cold. There is no one to address the issues.”
A parent, Sudpita Bhomik from West Bengal, accompanying her daughter for her football match, said, “Punjab has a benchmark when it comes to sports. Before coming here, we had a different perception, but to our shock, this is the lowest quality of arrangements we have seen. The bitter chill added to our woes. Children are sleeping on the floors and the lack of hygiene has made it worse. My daughter has played in the National School Games for the last four years, visiting Telangana and Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur and Indore, where the arrangements were far better.”
