Patna: State disabilities commissioner Shivajee Kumar, on Monday wrote to principal secretary,art, culture and youth affairs department, Chaitanya Prasad, asking him not to discriminate between differently abled and normal sportspersons when giving them cash rewards after they earn national and international tournament glory.

The state government felicitates national and internationally recognised state sportspersons with the Bihar Rajya Khel Puraskar.

Sportspersons are given a fixed amount as cash prize along with the honour.

Differently abled sportspersons have time and again said that the state government discriminates against them on the cash reward.

"The art, culture and youth affairs department has recently issued an advertisement regarding Bihar Rajya Khel Puraskar, which shows a huge disparity between the cash prize given to a normal sportsperson and the one given to a differently abled sportsperson," Shivajee said.

"The Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, says that there should not be any discrimination on the basis of disability and it also talks about extending similar rights to differently-able sportspersons which are provided to normal sportspersons. The letter which I have given to the department mentions all these facts. Hope my concerns are addressed by the department," he added.

He elaborated on the disparity in the cash prize.

"For example, a sportsperson is given Rs 5 crore if he/she wins in any international sports event, while a differently-abled sportsperson is given only Rs 1 crore.

"Similarly, the differently abled sportspersons are given Rs 50,000 if they win a gold medal in any national-level tournament, while normal sportspersons are given Rs 1 lakh cash prize for the same. A differently-abled person winning a silver medal is given Rs 35,000 cash prize whereas a normal sportsperson is given Rs 50,000," added Shivajee.

Rakesh Kumar, a Patna-based differently-abled athlete, agreed that those with disabilities get a raw deal from the state government.

"Differently-abled sportspersons have bagged more medals than the normal ones in the state in recent years," Rakesh pointed out.

"Yet, they are discriminated against in every aspect - be it infrastructure support or giving them cash rewards. For normal sportspersons, basic infrastructure is available in the state. For the differently abled, there is no proper place to train and hone their skills."

The facilities, when they are available, are inadequate.

"Ramps and all other facilities required for differently-abled sportspersons are absent in sporting facilities over here," Rakesh pointed out.