Ajay Raina
JAMMU, May 24: It is said that sports serves for delight, for ornament and for agility. However, this saying has hardly any place in the organizational ethics and the system of conducting activities in the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS), where the unprofessional approach and mismanagement, not only mars the talent of the budding sports persons, but also serves as a stumbling block in their careers at the tender age, rather at the grass-root level (School level).
The DYSS being the elitist sports organization in the State, organizes tournaments at School, District, State and National levels in almost all the registered sports disciplines from Under-14 to Under-19 age categories and acts as a nursery in catching the players young and coaching them. But the observance of mismanagement, negligence and unprofessional approach in conducting activities has put a question mark on the functioning of the DYSS.
One such example was the conduct of Inter-School Under-17 tournament organized by the Department in various sports disciplines at Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Leh from May 15 to May 19, 2015.
The tournament, which was participated by around 650 players and 40 officials drawn from 29 High Schools of District Leh, served as a superfluous platform for District Youth Services and Sports Officer Leh and a graveyard for the participants, with regard to availability of ground and allied facilities.
Sources said that hardly any facilities with regard to maintenance of grounds in the sports disciplines of volleyball, football, handball and athletics were seen during the organization of the mega sports event, medical facilities.
Sources added that a student from Siddartha High School of Village Stok was badly injured due to a dangerous playfield during a handball match, adding that despite his weep and cry everyone behaved like a silent spectator as if all have come to watch the premiere of a movie.
“A student of Mahabodhi Residential School, Choglamsar was profusely bleeding from nose and mouth, but Department hardly showed any mercy for the participant and there wasn’t any medical aid or ambulance present at the venue,” sources informed.
Sources further added that the matches of football were played of just 14 minutes instead of 90 minutes, to help the organizers finish 80 matches in just two and a half days, adding to expect players showcase their skill in a 14 minutes match is simply to flog a dead horse.
“On the final day, the Department organized a beautiful cultural programme and served better refreshment to impress the chief guest and other dignitaries. Otherwise, the event was simply an eyewash. The technical errors by the officials made the event more dirty. Iron tanks were used in place of officials tables by the panel of experts,” sources said.
So, in such circumstances, it is almost impossible for the State of Jammu and Kashmir, which otherwise, is striving hard to craft a space on the Country’s Sports Map, to flourish at the higher levels.
The officers of the DYSS could not be contacted as their mobile phones were switched off.
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