By Admin 
Last month, a tragic accident took place in Haryana’s Rohtak district, when a dilapidated iron pole of a basketball ‘hoop’ collapsed while practicing and 16-year-old player Hardik Rathi died on the spot. Now the police have come into action in this matter and have registered an FIR against unknown persons.
Lakhanmajra police station in-charge Samarjeet Singh said that the deceased player’s father Sandeep Rathi had given a complaint on Saturday, on the basis of which an FIR has been registered. In the complaint, action has been demanded against all those people whose negligence led to this accident.
Family’s allegation, complaint lodged several times
Hardik’s father has made serious allegations against the officials. He says that the pillar due to which his son died after falling was rusted and dilapidated for a long time. Rathi said that he had given written and verbal complaints to the authorities several times about the poor condition of the court, but no one understood the need for repairs.
The family says that an amount of more than Rs 12 lakh was sanctioned from the local MP fund for the repair of the court, later an additional grant of Rs 6.20 lakh was also given, but the work has not started.
Rathi alleges that due to the negligence of the public servants and contractors who installed the poor quality poles and whose job was to regularly inspect and repair them, my son lost his life. This is criminal negligence and everyone should be punished.
A similar accident happened in Jhajjar also
This is not the first case in Haryana. 15 year old player Aman had died in a similar accident in Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar. During practice, the pole of the ‘hoop’ broke and fell and after suffering serious injuries, Aman died in PGIMS Rohtak.
Aman’s father had also filed a complaint with the police accusing the officials of negligence and demanded action against those responsible.
Dual incidents raise questions on sports infrastructure
After the death of two minor players in Rohtak and Jhajjar, a big question has arisen regarding the poor condition of sports infrastructure in Haryana. The opposition has attacked the government and said that government money is not being spent on the repair and security of sports grounds, which is putting the lives of players at risk.
Now there will be fitness test of grounds
After strong pressure, Haryana Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam has announced that all the sports grounds and stadiums in the state will be inspected. He said that the departments which are responsible for the maintenance of sports grounds, such as education and panchayat departments, will now have to give an affidavit that the grounds are safe and fit for practice.
The Sports Minister also held a review meeting with officials in Panchkula and informed that Rs 114 crore has been released for the repair, upgradation and redevelopment of stadiums and grounds across the state.
The families of Hardik and Aman have demanded that strict action be taken against all responsible officials and contractors. He says that if the damaged pillars had been replaced in time, both these accidents would not have happened.
Both the families as well as several sports organizations are now demanding reconstruction and regular inspection of sports facilities in the state, so that no further players lose their lives.