New Delhi/Calcutta: Former international cyclist and national coach Ruma Chatterjee died in a road accident on Tuesday morning, after being hit by a speeding vehicle on the Greater Noida Expressway.
Ruma, 51, died on the spot. A BSNL (Calcutta circle) employee, she is survived by her 77-year-old mother and five sisters.
Ruma was riding a motorcycle while supervising the practice of the junior national team. According to an eyewitness, Ruma was on the extreme left of the road when she was knocked down by the car at 6.30 am.
Ruma was only the third international woman cyclist from Bengal, the other two being Bani Ghosh and Rikta Mondal. Ruma also excelled as a coach and produced some good cyclists from Bengal like Hasina Khatun, Pamela Ghosh and Barnali Bose.
“It was a horrible experience,” said one of the cyclists. “Tuesday was a day of road practice for the track cyclists. While the seniors were having an 80-km session, the juniors were supposed to cycle for 60 km. Madam was following the junior team when the accident occured.”
The tragic death of Ruma also raised questions whether the national camp should be held in Delhi. “We have been telling the authorities for a long time to shift the camp out of Delhi. Road practice has become too risky in Delhi and we never receive proper protection from the federation,” said one of the cyclists.
The cyclist also pointed out that a similar incident happened in the same area last year when a local coach was lucky to escape a mishap during practice. Cycling federation officials, however, maintain that Yamuna Velodrome in Delhi has the best training facilities.
Ruma was named the Indian coach for the World Championship in Scotland. Initially, the camp was supposed to be held in the high-altitude training centre in Shilaru, Himachal Pradesh, but the proposal was turned down by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
“Going by the original schedule, Ruma should have been in Switzerland with the national team today for an exposure trip. But the team could not go as they were denied visa,” rued an official.
The cremation is scheduled to take place in Calcutta on Wednesday.
