Government cheques to sportspersons bounces but CM is too busy to meet them

The State government had awarded disabled sportspersons with cheques, three months ago However, the banks reportedly refused to honour the cheques The sportspersons wait for hours to meet chief minister Siddaramaiah but in vain

Disabled sportspersons who were awarded cheques by the state government were in for a rude shock when they could not claim the prize amount as the cheques have bounced. Worse, when the disappointed sportspersons went to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with their complaint - on Monday - the chief minister was apparently too busy to listen to their woes.

The State government had honoured disabled sportspersons for their stellar performances at various competitions, three months ago. When some of the disabled persons went to the bank to encash the cheque, they were told that the cheques were dishonoured. Disappointed the sportspersons - led by the federation - came to meet the chief minister at his office home office, Cauvery, on Monday. They waited for more than an hour but could not meet the chief minister. According to Kannada Prabha, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah left the office in a hurry to attend the cabinet meeting at Vidhana Soudha. Unrelenting, the sportspersons too left for Vidhana Soudha hoping to meet the chief minister over there.

But the chief minister was reportedly busy attending back-to-back meetings at Vidhana Soudha. The sportspersons waited for hours there too. It is reported that officials concerned who met them at the Vidhana Soudha has promised to look into their issue.

It may be recalled here that this was not the first time that the cheques issued by the government being dishonoured by banks. Even last year, after the Hampi Utsav, the government had honoured the sportspersons with the cheque. But even then, the cheques were reportedly dishonoured by the banks for lack of funds.