Most of the women players contesting at the ongoing National Wrestling Championships in Mega Sports Complex are devoid of sanitation and hygiene. The rooms and bathrooms are filthy, broken switch boards are hanging and there is water crunch for drinking and bathing. In a visit to the hostel on Friday, a member of the Gujarat contingent told The Pioneer, she has been suffering with malaria since Thursday as organisers initiated late for the basic accommodation facilities.
“We reached here on Wednesday as the tournaments had to begin on Thursday. On the first day, the food served was not up to the mark. Among the two fans, one fan in most of the rooms was not working. There were no mosquito repellents. When we approached the organizers and they provided mosquito coils in all the rooms. But, very few fans are working even after being repaired,” the Manager added.
For West Bengal players, it was no use to request the organisers to provide water for bathing. “Toilets for girls and boys are attached in one bathroom. The locks of our room entrance and balcony doors are broken. There is only one fan in the room because the other fan is broken,” said a wrestler of the team. Similar were the complaints of Manipur and Tamil Nadu teams. For Odisha wrestlers, drinking water and meal was improper. “The quantity of turmeric in dal is more. We have to bring water from the steel drum kept in the hall,” said a player of the team.
The players of the hosting state team Jharkhand pointed on the rare government facilities affecting their performance. “In the last national wrestling meet, players of Kerala team were weaker than us. Now, they are recognised under SAI due to which they are giving us tough competition like UP and Haryana,” said a female player.
However, when the organisers of the championships were contacted, they claimed their helplessness. “We have hardly received any such complain. Our labourers are deployed in the hostel from 9 am to 5pm. They are ensuring cleanliness and sanitation of the rooms and bathrooms. As the tournament begins early morning, the players must have locked the rooms and left for the stadium. It is due to these reasons, rooms are not being cleaned,” said a member of Jharkhand State Wrestling Association which is organising the tourney. The member also blamed the dilapidated condition of the Mega Sports Complex including the hostels and stadiums which has not been renovated after the 34th National Games held here in 2011.