19 September,2014 08:31 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
Things were different at District Sports Office (DSO) hockey competitions and they have hosted the U-14, U-17 and U-19 events successfully with huge help from Sports Authority of India (SAI)
The District Sports Office (DSO) has recently drawn flak for the shoddy facilities it provided while conducting their football tournaments. But, things were different at their hockey competitions and they have hosted the U-14, U-17 and U-19 events successfully.
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Players of Duruelo Convent and SBOA Public School (Nerul) vie for the ball in the girls U-14 final. Pic/Nimesh Dave
This was possible largely due to the support of Sports Authority of India (SAI), Kandivli which waived off ground and water charges for DSO's tournaments. DSO suburb officer Dhanraj Motghare thanked SAI for their support. "Yesterday, we were able to complete three age category events - U-14, U-17 and U-19 (boys and girls) because SAI gave us complete support and didn't charge a penny for the ground. The girls were given a separate room for changing and had access to separate toilets," said Motghare.
Meagre grants
It was shocking to learn that DSO authorities get measly grants to conduct tournaments. "Since 1996 the government grants DSO Rs 2,500 to conduct one tournament. DSO has to pay only officials who come to officiate the matches. Rs 2500 is not sufficient," said a source.
SAI Kandivli deputy director Satish Sarhadi informed that water shortages which the centre faced previously have been sorted out. "We have now installed a borewell, so there is no problem with water supply."
