Quality of workmanship at SAI Bengaluru the worst I've ever seen, says Sports Minister
Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has launched a scathing criticism at the SportsĀ Authority of India, Bengaluru, after his recent visit to the institute ended up in a bad experience. Rathore has also added that immediate changes are required in order to improve the Bangalore facility.
Olympic silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been an extremely active personality ever since his appointment as the sports minister of India. His brainchild 'Khelo India', which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, brought him accolades for the Khelo India initiative that promoted the significance of sports at the grassroots level.
Rathore had been on a visit to the various SAI institutes across the country in order to evaluate the facilities and infrastructure that the institutes provide to the budding campers. And after his recent visit to the SAI institute in Bengaluru, Rathore was furious as to how underdeveloped the infrastructural facilities were.
āIād been hearing about the bad quality of work with regard to the synthetic athletics track and swimming pool. Iāve seen it myself now. The quality is the worst I have ever seen. We canāt be investing in second-rate products. Poor quality of workmanship has gone into the swimming pool. The synthetic track is supposed to be brand new, itās supposed to have a life of seven years and it is already worn out in places and theyāve put patches. Itās only two years old,ā said Rathore.
Rathore is renowned for his surprise visits to government and private institutes across the country in a bid to check whether the everyday tax-payers money is being put to good use on all fronts. After his recent scathing of the Bengaluru facility, Rathore has ensured that immediate changes were going to take place at the institute.
āThe money belongs to the taxpayers. Each penny has to be accounted for and we have to get the best value for it. Better synthetic tracks and better swimming pools are being laid out for lesser money than what weāve invested. This is very distressing,ā
āUnfortunately, I canāt also lose time because my athletes are training and I have to give them the facility. But I will ensure these agencies do not take advantage of that. This needs to change immediately. SAI, Bengaluru, can be one of the very good centres,ā Rathore added.
The minister also visited the Padukone-Dravid Centre
āI was very happy to see the facility at the Padukone Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, I will also look into how we can partner with such institutions through Khelo India. They are privately run and better managed and we will offer them the support of the government of India,ā Rathore added.
