Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday shared condolences with the family of 16-year old national basketball player Hardik Rathi, who died tragically after a basketball pole collapsed unexpectedly during practice in his village playground. Calling the incident a disgrace for the entire nation, the Chief Minister said the entire sports fraternity is in deep shock and anguish over the mishap.
He said Hardik’s parents never imagined that the son who went to practice to make the country proud will return home lifeless. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that he is ardent lover of sports and his love for sports brought him to share in the family’s grief during this difficult time.
The Chief Minister called it deeply unfortunate that villagers had repeatedly complained about the poor condition of the basketball court, but no one paid attention. He said the Haryana government must take responsibility for this negligence and a member of the bereaved family should be given a government job and appropriate compensation.
Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this tragic accident has exposed the deteriorating sports infrastructure in Haryana. The Chief Minister bemoaned that despite tall claims about advancing sports facilities by the Haryana government, the reality on the ground is deplorable.
He said that more than 47 players from this village have represented the country in national and international level tournaments yet the Haryana government failed to provide proper facilities in its playground, leading to this tragedy. Bhagwant Singh Mann further said that it is shameful that although funds had been released for the ground’s repair, not a single penny had been spent for which accountability must be fixed.
The Chief Minister also expressed profound grief and sorrow over the death of another young player, Aman Kumar (15), who died in Bahadurgarh, Haryana, when another basketball pole collapsed, adding he demanded strict action in that case too. He said that the Union Sports Ministry should seek reports from all states on the current state of sports grounds to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
Bhagwant Singh Mann noted that on one hand, India is preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, but on the other hand, poor infrastructure is causing the loss of young sports talents. The Chief Minister said that Union government must introspect that whether the country is truly ready to host world-level competitions or not.
On this occasion, Bhagwant Singh Mann mentioned that to promote sports culture in Punjab, a project worth Rs 1,194 crore has been launched to build over 3,100 state-of-the-art stadiums across the state adding that Punjab government is providing world-class sports facilities and has increased the sports budget to Rs 1,000 crore.
Bhagwant Singh Mann said that to prepare emerging players for national and international competitions, the state has successfully organized the “Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan” games for three consecutive years, engaging lakhs of athletes.