Submitted by rickeyre on
A rather staggering report from Indo-Asian News Service:
Indian sports federations reluctant to help tsunami-hit
By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, Indo-Asian News ServiceNew Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) While people in different walks of life are coming forward to help the survivors of the tsunami disaster, leading sports federations of India have shown a certain lack of interest in doing so.
Over 122,000 people, including thousands in southern India, died in South and Southeast Asia in Sunday's tsunami.
Ironically, even as top Indian sports federations, whom IANS spoke to Friday, sounded indifferent towards the affected people, it has been announced that the Indian cricket team would donate their fees from either a Test or a one-dayer for the rehabilitation of the disaster victims.
The Australian cricket board and the country's players have pledged 34,000 Australian dollars, while the Pakistan Cricket Board, the United Cricket Board of South Africa and the International Cricket Council have also promised to help.
In India, so far only the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a donation of Rs.10 million.
But even that was done on second thoughts -- after members of the national team announced they would donate the fee from a match.
The BCCI nonetheless took the decision despite restrictions on its functioning imposed by the Supreme Court, which is hearing three cases involving the board, including its September election.
Other prominent national sports bodies, like the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Athletics Federations of India (AFI) and All India Football Federation (AIFF), are either yet to take a decision or have said they would not contribute at all.
"The AITA committee will meet and decide on the issue," AITA secretary Anil Khanna told IANS.
"But we are not a rich body like the BCCI," he said, without setting a date by which AITA would donate or if at all.
"I wish Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were playing tennis, so that more people would have come to watch them (and make AITA richer)," he said in a lighter vein.
The football federation will decide Tuesday whether to donate money to the affected and displaced people in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and various island territories.
While AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, who is also water resources minister, was not available, a federation official said a decision would be taken Tuesday when officials of prominent clubs meet in Delhi.
"If not at this meeting, a decision to contribute for tsunami-hit people will be taken by teleconferencing between the president, the secretary and the executive committee members," he said.
The athletics federation, headed by Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi, too is unlikely to contribute, hinted AFI secretary Lalit Bhanot.
"So far no discussion has taken place on tsunami contribution," Bhanot told IANS.
"But we would think about it once the president, now out of town, returns to Delhi," he said.
While Bhanot kept a flicker of hope alive, IHF president K.P.S. Gill boldly said any contribution from the national hockey body was virtually ruled out.
"We have not discussed this as yet. We will see later," he said when contacted.
After a pause, Gill said: "There is an IHF meeting of some officials on Jan 4. But most probably we won't (donate) as we are not a very rich body."
IHF recently signed a contract, believed to be lucrative, with ESPN-STAR Sports to televise its innovative and month-long Premier Hockey League starting Jan 13 at Hyderabad.
The national shooting association too is uncertain if it would make any contribution. Secretary-general Baljeet Singh Sethi said: "NRAI is a society, so its president or secretary alone cannot take a decision on this.
"Our general body meeting is on Jan 20, when the matter could be discussed as it is a national cause. I think there should be no problem."
Indo-Asian News Service
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