Cash for para athletes

Patna: The art, culture and youth affairs department has decided to provide cash awards to sportspersons who have won medals in the World Para Athletics Championships.

Differently abled sportspersons who have won gold at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships will be given Rs 75 lakh. Silver medallists will be awarded Rs 50 lakh and bronze medallists Rs 30 lakh.

Shivajee Kumar, the state disabilities commissioner, said earlier only winners of Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, deaf-and-dumb Olympics, blind sports got cash from the government. Awarding World Para Athletics Championships medallists cash, he said, would motivate them to do better.

“We earlier wrote letters to the department to include cash award for winners of World Para Athletics Championships. The department has accepted our demand. Differently abled sportspersons and others who have done well in national and international championships will be felicitated and given cash awards at the Bihar Rajya Khel Puraskar Samaroh on August 29,” Shivajee said, adding that he had also written to the department, requesting it not to be prejudiced against sportspersons with disabilities while awarding prizes.

“Our main fight is there should not be any differentiation between sportspersons. Right now, the department does not give equal amount as cash prize to the different sportspersons. Differently abled sportspersons have time and again raised this issue of discrimination by the state government,” he said.

Shivajee said the art, culture and youth affairs department recently issued an advertisement on the Bihar Rajya Khel Puraskar Samaroh, showing the disparity between the cash prizes for a differently abled sportsperson and another.

“The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 says there should not be any discrimination on the basis of disability. At present, a normal sportsperson is being given Rs 5 crore for an international sports event and a differently abled sportsperson only Rs 1 crore,” he said.

Courtesy: The Telegraph