EMN
DIMAPUR, APRIL 24
Five cricket boards from the northeast – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Nagaland – have called for intervention from the BCCI on matters of other member states “making unsubstantiated and untrue allegations against Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) member states of northeast on cricketing activities to further their individual interest.”
This was contained in a press statement issued by the newly formed North East Cricket Development Committee (NECDC), which consists members from the five boards, on Sunday. In a meeting held here today, the five boards made clear their collective disappointment at the views expressed by some members of the BCCI, like Baroda Cricket Association, in course of argument in the Supreme Court, as reported in the national media, that there was no presence of cricket in the northeast and that the associations were not making efforts to promote the game.
“The House observed that such type of erroneous statements is detrimental to the cause of the game and national unity as a whole. Rather the associations observed that it was due to lack of adequate infrastructure and financial assistance that the activities and initiatives of the state associations were greatly restricted,” read a press statement issued by the convener of NECDC, Neiphiu Rio and co-convenor, Naba Bhattarcharjee.
The five boards have also welcomed the recommendations of Lodha Commission instituted by the Supreme Court which has suggested that all states of the country should be full voting members of the BCCI on the principle of “one state – one vote” policy followed by all other national sports organizations/associations.
The House also welcomed the observations of the Supreme Court regarding the difficulties of the north eastern states and its support for all states of the country to become full-fledged members of the BCCI, it stated.
Also, the boards observed that north east cricket associations should be given sufficient assistance from the BCCI for development and promotion of the game and therefore the BCCI will be approached in a collective manner for more intensive developmental initiatives all over the region, including enhancement of annual grant/subsidy.
Towards this, the regional committee by the nomenclature North East Cricket Development Committee (NECDC) has been constituted. The boards also resolved that Mizoram –a sister state from northeast region – be granted affiliation without further delay as their case is genuine and has been pending since last many years. Mizoram is the only state in the northeast yet to be granted membership of BCCI.
