Ranchi: The ordeal of the over 1,000 participants of the 22nd National Games of the Deaf at the Hotwar mega sports complex seems to have finally ended with the state sports department taking over the management of the meet.
The event, jointly organised by All India Sports Council of the Deaf along with Jharkhand Association of the Deaf and Jharkhand Sports Council of the Deaf, had grabbed headlines for utter mismanagement and the ill-treatment meted out to visiting players.
"The organisers did not discuss with us the logistic arrangements made by them. We came to know about the poor situation on Friday evening. By then, the organisers had left the complex. On Saturday, we found players carrying out an agitation. They requested us to make arrangements for their return journey. We have taken over the management of the game now. The state government doesn't want Jharkhand to earn a bad name," said Ved Ratna Mohan, undersecretary of the sports department, who visited the sports complex on Sunday afternoon.
The sports department has hired Ranchi-based Subham Caterer to provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea to the participants. Additional beds have been brought in and the existing beds cleaned.
Six security in-charges of the complex have been put on special duty to take care of the players.
"We have 139 private guards out of which we have roped in around 70 solely for this sports meet. They will be on duty from 7am till 10pm and have been asked to ensure that the players and coaches don't face any inconvenience," security in-charge S.K. Pandey said.
An ambulance and a team of doctors from CCL Gandhinagar hospital have also been pressed into service.
"We had stocked mineral water yesterday (Saturday). Besides, Ranchi Municipal Corporation is supplying water through tankers. From today (Sunday), we are getting additional supply of water from Rukka dam," said Sanjeev Modak, manager of the Subham Caterer.
The players seemed satisfied too.
"The organisers left us in the lurch just because we are deaf and mute. We don't demand luxurious treatment. We just wanted basic facilities such as food, lodging, accommodation and sanitation. The situation has improved from last (Saturday) evening," conveyed Manohar JV, a national-level volleyball player from Telangana, in sign language.
Coach Kamlesh Sharma from Rajasthan said the mismanagement had spoiled the mood of the players.
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