Food kept on toilet floor served to Kabaddi players in UP; probe ordered after videos go viral

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Saharanpur, Sep 20, 2022: Videos of kabaddi players being served food inside the toilet of a stadium in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur have triggered outrage on social media days after photographs of the incident went viral, sparking an investigation by the state government. The controversy has taken a political turn after the opposition Congress accused the ruling BJP of ignoring the needs of sportspersons.

 

Initially, photographs had emerged of cooked rice kept on a large plate on the floor of the toilet. The rice was allegedly served to around 200 players taking part in a three-day state-level Under-17 girls’ Kabaddi tournament in Saharanpur district.

When the photographs went viral on September 18, sports officer of Saharanpur, Animesh Saxena, dismissed the allegations as baseless. “The food served to players here is of good quality. Food, including rice, dal sabzi were cooked in large vessels in a traditional brick oven near the swimming pool," he had said. Saxena said the food was cooked near the stadium’s pool due to shortage of space, and some reports quoted him as saying that the food was kept in a “changing room”.

 

यूपी की कबड्डी खेलने वाली बेटियों को टॉयलेट में खाना परोसा गया।

झूठे प्रचार पर करोड़ों खर्च करने वाली BJP सरकार के पास हमारे खिलाड़ियों के लिए अच्छी व्यवस्था करने के पैसे नहीं हैं।

धिक्कार है! pic.twitter.com/UazJvCrWPB

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 20, 2022

News agency IANS, however, quoted a player as saying that the rice plate and other food items were kept on the floor of the toilet. “From the vessel, cooked rice was taken out in a big plate and was placed on the toilet floor near the gate. Next to the rice plate, were leftover pooris on a piece of paper on the floor. The rice was then served to the players for lunch."

A few players had reportedly raised the matter before a stadium official, who informed sports office Animesh Saxena, who in turn “reprimanded" the cooks.

The issue was reignited on Tuesday after videos emerged of the kabaddi players being served the food inside the toilet and taking the plates out to eat. In the video, men’s urinals can be seen directly opposite the spot where the food was kept for the players to serve themselves.

Following the outrage, district sports officer Animesh Saxena was suspended with immediate effect.

In a tweet, the Congress took on the Yogi Adityanath government, saying it could not provide the kabaddi players better facilities when it was spending huge amounts on “false advertisements”.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, too, hit out at the BJP, describing the incident as “shameful”.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Singh said the act was an insult to the players.

The state government has directed ADM Finance and Revenue, Rajnish Kumar Mishra, to investigate the incident. The Directorate of Sports has also sought a reply from the district magistrate on the incident.