Sporting activities in Bengaluru struggle to get back on feet By Padmini Dhruvaraj Bengaluru: Though sports activities have been allowed to resume in Bengaluru, normalcy has not returned. Lokesh SP, head coach of the Jyothy Aquatic Centre, informed The Observer: "Our pool is of 25 metres with four lanes. Follow ing all the regulations and safety precautions of the central gov ernment is difficult during an economic crisis like this.” The Centre released a stand ard operating procedure (SOP) to reopen swimming pools from Oc tober 15 for competitive swim mers representing a state or the country. The SOP instructs open ing pools only for four hours a day and not exceeding two swim mers in one lane. “To open four hours a day, we need two coaches, a lifeguard, one pump operator, a maid, and security. We won’t earn enough to pay these people’s salaries.
Additionally, we require chemic als, and have to pay the electri city bill for a 9hp motor and 3hp vacuum. Hence, the expenditure will be more than income,” Lokesh added. Violating the SOP, a few swim ming pools are allowing people without Covidnegative certific ates. Nivedan Bhardwaj, a regu lar swimmer at a club in
Kengeri, alleged that it is allow ing more than 14 people per batch. Asked about his safety con cerns, he said: “I cannot use a mask while swimming. People spit in the water due to the chlor ine present. Swimming goggles have, though, been made man datory for everyone.” But Praveen MP, the adminis
trator of the club, said: “We have reopened the pool for zonal swimmers. Although WHO says Covid doesn’t spread through water, we remain shut for the general public.” Gyms and other sports academies are not running at full capacity, “We have mandated the use of masks, gloves and sanit izers, besides social distancing. Despite all this, we have barely 3040% of our regular members back,” said Dhanush M, a trainer at the Body Fitness Gym. Fearing the virus, many par ents have withdrawn their chil dren from coaching camps. Sachin Kumar, a basketball coach at Tenvic Sports, said: “Coaching is resuming slowly. Now it is one to one, just the coach and the student, instead of an entire team. We train in an open court and follow all cleanli ness and safety measures and guidelines. Only 50% students have returned since we resumed training from October, following Unlock 4.0." Kumar feels that from health and happiness to education, sports is a necessity for children. He thinks it helps in their overall development and growth. Continued on Page 3
By Upasana Banerjee
By Nishant Kumar Sitamarhi: Election duty for government teachers and angan wadi workers has affected teach ing in schools and the distribution of rations. “Around four months are spent on election duty during an elec tion year,” Prabhakar Kumar, a teacher from a Kendriya Vidy alaya, informed The Observer. “We... are not paid adequately.” Election duty consists of regis
tering voters, conducting sur veys, counting and organizing awareness drives. In the past, the teachers’ union has protested against drafting teachers for election duty. The
union has demanded that the Bi har government should regular ize the services of ad hoc teachers and pay adequately for election duty. Continued on Page 2
Kolkata: The shutdown of schools due to the Covid pandem ic has adversely impacted the students of rural Bengal. Students from villages do not have access to smartphones or laptops at home, leaving them at a disadvantage during online learning. They have depended solely on schools for education, but since the lockdown was im posed, they have lost touch with learning. Belonging to the families of farmers and dailywage earners, most of them cannot afford a tu tor for home schooling. Durba Chattopadhyay, a teacher at Sikshangan Chalksa
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railways and Commerce minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with a delegation of farmers on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan to hear their issues after days of protesting in Delhi. Former Punjab CM Former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal returned his Padma Vibhushan award to show solidarity with farmers.
India's COVID19 cases surpassed 95 lakh, while the total number of people who have recovered increased to 89.73 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 94.11 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday.
Actor Rajinikanth will launch his political party in January 2021, five months ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The 69yearold said, “I am ready to sacrifice even my life for the sake of Tamil people...It is now or never."
lika School, informed The Ob server: “We couldn’t communicate with our students during this time.We wish to take online classes, but cannot bear the cost of Internet.”
Tuition centres hit, P2 Rural schools lack computers and 24/7 electricity to conduct online classes. The West Bengal government cannot provide any structural assistance to the schools due to lack of preparation and insufficient funds. With no help coming from the West Bengal government, the students have been left stranded without any facilities to attend classes. Continued on Page 2