Now, AP government ‘stick-checks’ Mukesh

HYDERABAD: The heart of any sports buff will go out for hockey Olympian Mukesh Kumar for the manner in which Hockey India (HI) has dumped him from the position of junior India team coach. However for Mukesh, that’s nothing compared to the insult he has been subjected to by his state government.

The travails that the three-time Olympian had to endure while trying to save a small piece of land from being taken back by the government have left him a shattered man.

Mukesh was allotted five acres at Shamirpet in 2006 for setting up an academy, but the government is now threatening to take back the land as the player has failed to pay its cost.

Originally, Mukesh was told to pay Rs 25 lakh at the rate of Rs 5 lakh per acre in 2006, but since he failed to raise that money, the government has now jacked up the price to Rs 65 lakh “as per current rates”.

Soon after the Rajasekhara Reddy government allotted him the land, Mukesh requested that the allotment be made closer to the city at Gachibowli.

However, after his repeated pleas for more than a year fell on deaf ears, Mukesh resigned to his fate and decided to take possession of the land at Shamirpet and began hunting for sponsors.

Despite hockey being the national sport, sponsors were hard to find and it took Mukesh almost five years to find one.

However, when he approached the local MRO with the prescribed amount in 2011, he was in for a rude shock. Mukesh was told that the price of land has since been hiked to 11.5 lakh per acre and he has to pay Rs 65 lakh for it.

“I feel more insulted by the state government than HI. I am deeply hurt by the way I have been treated by the government. I worked very hard to raise Rs 25 lakh. But now I am being asked to pay Rs 65 lakh. For me it is impossible to get that amount,” said Mukesh.

Pained at the absence of local talent, Mukesh said such a situation could have been averted if there were enough academies.