I/II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tournaments/asian-games-2014/india-at-incheon/Roaches-in-kitchen-stale-food-for-Asiad-athletes/articleshow/42234610.cms Roaches in kitchen, stale food for Asiad athletesRitu Sejwal <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Ritu-Sejwal.cms>,TNN | Sep 11, 2014, 09.03 AM IST
Vegetables meant for national athletes are stored casually, in unhygienic conditions. (TOI Photo) NEW DELHI: In the movie 'Mary Kom', when the lead character played by Priyanka Chopra is teased by her boyfriend for tucking into golgappas, she says the street fare is "health food" compared to meals served in camps run by the Sports Authority of India. From reel to real, nothing really changes for India's sportspersons. Asiad-bound women boxers, gymnasts and cyclists complain of being served unhygienic food at a training camp in Delhi before they leave for the big event. On Wednesday, TOI got a first-hand experience of the facilities provided to these athletes at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. There were cockroaches in the kitchen, the storage facilities for vegetables were unhygienic, utensils were being washed carelessly, water coolers were defunct and the waste disposal improper. Naturally, the athletes - India's medal hopes at the Incheon Asian Games, starting September 19 - were disgruntled. On Monday, the administration was fined Rs 4,000 by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for not maintaining its water tanks. The wake-up call doesn't seem to have worked. The mess contractor continues to provide unhygienic fare despite repeated warnings and athletes say they are sometimes threatened with expulsion or served leftover fare if they complain too much. Some athletes have written to the sports ministry requesting an enquiry into the facilities. "The matter of poor food quality was raised with the caterer but he threatened to take disciplinary action against us. Even the coaches and dieticians want to stay out of it and it is the campers who suffer," the letter said. "We had a word with the contractor," said an athlete, "Instead of listening to our problems he threatened us, saying, 'Discipline ke naam par camp se nikalwane mein zyada time nahi lagega' (We can get you chucked out of the camp for in the name of discipline). The cook neither wears a cap nor gloves while cooking and serving, and there is no supervisor. Sometimes they serve leftover chicken in the next meal. They say free ka khana hai chup chap kha ke jao (It's a free meal, eat it in silence)." When TOI tabled the athlete's problems to stadium administrator Kapil Kaul, he was furious. "Where are the cockroaches in the food? You can find cockroaches in any house. It is very difficult to run a national camp. In fact, rats are a bigger problem. A nutritionist visits the camp every week and suggested not using insecticides. We are coming up with ways to get over the problem without exposing the athletes to harmful stuff." An athlete told TOI, "There is evidence everywhere. We need to have clean and hygienic food. Diet is the backbone of any athlete. The water cooler in the dining area has not been working for over 10 days and there is no information on when it was cleaned last, while the other cooler on the first floor worked only for a week after it was installed last year." The caterer, funnily enough, said the cooler broke down only on Monday night. The administration, to be fair, has sent a number of warnings to the caterers to maintain hygienic conditions, but to no avail. "The kitchen and mess should be in clean and hygienic conditions at all times. Dirty and unhygienic conditions will lead to penal action against the mess contractor," a letter in TOI's possession states. Another letter dated December 28, 2013, cautions the contractor: "It has been noticed that kitchen area is not maintained from cleanliness point of view... You are hereby cautioned that immediate arrangement for waste be made." Kaul, however, claimed coolers were now in working condition and that it was the CPWD that was fined for the poor condition of the water tanks. He also pointed out that handing over the maintenance to CPWD delayed the process. "Maintenance is with CPWD and they were fined. The coolers are working. We don't have the resources. There is a long procedure which is very slow but we are trying to provide what is best to the campers," he said. TOI found the hostel area to be cleaner. Sports Authority of India's director general Jiji Thomson said, "There is no excuse for this incident. The catering in-charge at the IG stadium is not from SAI, we have outsourced it. Finding a good caterer is a problem as we have been instructed to pick the lowest quoted price and good people will not compromise," Thomson said. Another camper said, "Earlier they used to serve juice in small packs, now they give one big pack of juice in an open jar. If we raise our voices we fear they will add something in our food and our career will end with a dope charge. We are in a medal sport, we fail to understand why the camp was moved to Delhi from Patiala." Gymnastics coach G S Bawa refused to comment, saying, "I have been in the camp for a year now and I have never seen a single cockroach." Cycling coach R K Sharma said regular visits from SAI nutritionist to the camp had improved quality. "The government is emphasizing on improving food quality for national campers and has passed an enhanced diet program of Rs 650, which was to be implemented before the Glasgow Games, but was made available only at the end of August. "Two nutritionists from SAI and a dietician are visiting regularly and that is why these changes have taken place. The government has started to put in efforts after the London Olympics and things are slowly improving." Thomson, however, said: "In Kolkata, we have hired IRCTC to take care of food. We approached some corporate houses but they politely declined as they want to make profit and don't want to do charity. "They want a huge number of campers for the economics to work out. If there are no campers in a stadium they won't make the profit." He added: "We received lot of complaints from Patiala. The new caterer is not happy and wants to quit. If we fire them no one will come. What is the way out? We spoke to few private companies to set up food courts in stadiums, but they demand inflow of at least 1,000 people a day, which is difficult." II. http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/news/229650-asian-games-cockroaches-in-kitchen-stale-food-on-table-in-national-training-camp Asian Games: Cockroaches in Kitchen, Stale Food on Table in National Training Camp Gearing up for Asian Games glory, Indian boxers, cyclists and gymnasts are being served unhygienic food at a training camp in the national capital. Last updated on Thursday, 11 September, 2014 09:10 IST New Delhi: In what comes as a shocking revelation just eight days prior to Asian Games, Indian athletes attending a training camp at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex were reportedly fed stale food cooked in unhygienic kitchens. Snipped -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
