Sportspersons threaten to return award if govt jobs not given

City-based fencer and Shiv Chhatrapati award recipient Sagar Magare told PTI that on Thursday as many as 11 sportspersons wrote letters to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in this regard.

He and others would return their awards on Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary of King Shivaji, next month, if they were not given jobs, he said.

"Resolutions were passed by civic bodies of Aurangabad, Bhandara, Washim, Amravati and Pune over two years ago that we should be absorbed into service. But nothing has been done so far," he said.

Wrestlers who win the state-level Maharashtra Kesari title are taken into government service with the rank of deputy superintendent, so the recipients of the Chhatrapati award, who have excelled at the national and international levels, should matter more, he said.

The Sangli Municipal Corporation passed a resolution to give jobs and implemented it, Magare said.

When contacted, Aurangabad mayor Nandkumar Ghodele said, "A resolution has already been passed. The proposal has been sent to the state government."

Neeta Range from Amaravati who has distinguished herself in the traditional Atya-Patya sport said she won the award in 2014-15.

"I am still waiting for appointment letter. The government was planning to appoint some 150 coaches. Why can't it consider recipients of the Chhatrapati award for these jobs?" she asked.

While Magare said that a total of 11 sportspersons have threatened to return the award, it could not be verified if others besides him and Range have written similar letters to the government.