Bangalore |  Mysore |  Mumbai |  Pune |  Hyderabad |  Kolkata |  Delhi  
Indian Classics |  Profiles  |  Fixtures |  Video |  Archives |  Public Pulse |  In & Around |  Specials |  International |  Home  
Loading....
in   
 
News    Send comment   Send E-mail   Print the page

BTC members insensitive to staffer’s misery

  October 11 , 2017
   

The Bangalore Turf Club members have proved that they are insensitive to the deep anguish that they have caused by their indifference to the fact that racing activities have come to a standstill for the last 45 days. The club is running out of finances and everyone one is on tenterhooks except a section of the members who believe that their rights override everything else.

The turf club is in existence to conduct racing and not to be a social club meant only for the members. The plight of the daily wage staffers who haven`t earned a rupee in all these 45 days since the government has denied the license to the club has truly been depressing. The club`s permanent employees, trainers, jockeys and syces haven`t been affected thus far and they can afford to take things easy till it begins to pinch them.

The daily wage staff tried to draw the attention of everyone to their plight by assembling at the car park area on Wednesday to express their misery. The daily wage employees on an average earn about Rs 15,000 a month and there are nearly 1000 of them. Then there are booksellers and other sundry workers who are dependent on the activity of off-course and on-course betting to earn their bread. Their families are dependent on the money earned by this activity and they have no insurance for the days they can`t earn. They don`t have any other talent to look for jobs elsewhere. They have been forced to sit at home as BTC members have shown a callous disregard to their plight and are refusing to climb down the government`s demand for increasing the membership including accommodating their nominees.

The members simply don`t care for their misery because they are comfortably placed in life and cannot appreciate the fact that by their inaction, they are jeopardizing the existence of many families some of whom may be driven to desperation. The BTC can face closure if the deadlock persists but unfortunately, the liability of the members is restricted to Rs 20 each!!!

The BTC is heavily dependent on the daily wage earners for generating the revenue. The tote staff have proved to be the best in the country as about Rs 2,000 crores go through the tote window. As such, the contribution of these people has been immense but it is a pity that the same has not been truly appreciated. It was indeed a sad sight to see so many of them breakdown. Unfortunately, none of the functionaries of the club was there to comfort them. Instead, they were asked to disperse as there was no prior permission. As somebody sent a WhatsApp message: ``What a disgrace. Nobody from the club came to express their solidarity which in the final analysis indicated that nobody cares for the ground level staff who generate money for the club, racehorse owners, trainers, jockeys and the government.`` It was sad to see them leave the place with tears in their eyes with a bleak future staring at them. They have very little hope given the rigid stand the club members and the government have taken.

Animal Welfare of India Inspector Roslyn has been passionate about racing and she waited patiently for hours to meet the Chief Minister. And when she did come face to face, the very mention of racing made the Chief Minister get angry and he was not willing to listen to anything that Roslyn wanted to say. He just said that he was not going to give license to BTC and reportedly walked off in a rage. This clearly indicates that the Chief Minister is very angry with the attitude of the BTC members who have refused to heed to any advice from the government to expand the membership and that he is not going to change his stance unless he gets what he wanted. It may be recalled that the then government of Devaraj Urs had forced the club to increase the membership by 100 in 1978 and history is repeating itself after nearly 40 years. There is no denying the fact that the membership profile of the club must change because right now it is mostly family controlled, with its attendant disadvantages. The members in 1978 voted for the increase in the interest of the sport as most members owned horses and had a great passion for the sport. The situation is not the same now. The majority have no interest in the sport and they have become members only because their family has made them one. One of the former State cricketers who became a member said that he contested to become a member only because he was told to do so by his parents why asked what his interest in the sport was!

Roslyn making so much effort to meet the Chief Minister is praiseworthy because the same concern has not been forthcoming either from the mandarins of the club or the other stakeholders of the sport.

The turf club mandarins are going at a snail`s pace to find a solution to the problem. The Chairman of the Club Harimohan Naidu said that they would be lobbying with the members to find a solution. The Special General Body Meeting hasn`t been scheduled and this means that it can be held only in the month of November given the fact that a 21-day notice is mandatory. And the Special General Body Meeting that will be called is not to vote for any resolution but only to discuss options before the club. This means that there must be another Special General Body Meeting to vote for the amendment of the Articles of the Association if the club members decide to yield to the government`s dictates.

Some of the racehorse owners are pressing the panic button. One of the owners called up to say that he was exploring the option of shifting his horses to another centre because he doesn`t see much hope in staying put. The problem is that the other centres in the country don`t accommodate horses in the lower category and hence they would be stuck with horses whom they can`t race if there is no resolution to the problem in quick time.

Many of the members believe that the last managing committee suo-moto gave an undertaking to the government to expand the membership of the club. This view has been reinforced by the Finance Secretary stating that licensing issue had nothing to do with the increase of membership. The fact of the matter is that the Chief Minister is very serious about breaking the exclusivity of membership. The past committee thus became a fait accompli. The problem started with Mysore Race Club members refusing to accommodate the government`s demand. The club was served with an eviction notice and the club is conducting its activity by getting a stay in the High Court. They are bound to face the heat sooner than later. The BTC members, by their infighting and taking the matter to the media and writing to the government, brought the problem on themselves and are responsible for the present plight following a CID enquiry into the affairs of the club.

Who do you think will come to the rescue of the sport? The members? Yes, that is possible only if they have the care of human life and welfare of the sport in their heart and not its destruction. As members, it is their duty to protect the sport and not to preside over its destruction and avert tragedy and misery to all vulnerable sections of the sport.

 
 
  Post your comments   E-mail   Print
Total Comments : 6
Posted by Banglorean on ( October 11 , 2017 )
Is there any way to get the whole lot of members ousted. Year on year by electing members who have no clue as to what horse racing means, it has reached this stage where these are not bothered about what happens inside a race course. Unfortunately those who actually contribute to racing have no powers to do anything about it. Should send a 20 question mailer pertaining to racing to each of the members for their feedback. Sure most of them would flop miserably. Separate questions should be asked, as these members are known to come together for their OWN COMMON CAUSE.
 
Posted by KITTU PUTTU on ( October 11 , 2017 )
I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU ARE ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT 1000 ODD FAMILES SUFFERING. BUT WHAT ABOUT 10,000,00 PEOPLE & THEIR FAMILIES, BECAUSE OF THE 10 LAKH PEOPLE, WHO GAMBLE AND LOSE EVERY DAY FOR THE BENEFIT OF 300 ODD MEMBERS OF BTC, & 1000 ODD DAILY WAGE WORKERS APART FROM THE STAFF OF BTC.

THE SAME THING WAS DONE BY THE FORMER CM YEDDI TO MAKE KARNATAKA A GAMBLING FREE STATE LIKE MISSOURI STATE IN THE USA, WHICH THE PRESENT CM SIDDU DID NOT WANT THEN. BUT NOW SIDDU IS DOING THE SAME AS FORMER CM YEDDI. HATS OFF TO BOTH THE CMS IN THEIR EFFORT TO MAKE IT A GAMBLING FREE STATE.

NOW, FINALLY, MY SINCERE REQUEST TO THE GOVT IS TO KEEP HORSE RACING AS A ROYAL SPORT (SUPREME COURT) WITHOUT BETTING ON HORSES, FOR THE BENEFIT OF 10,000,00 PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES. THEREFORE, CANCEL BETTING ON HORSE RACING THROUGH OUT THE COUNTRY WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT AND THANKS FOR HEARING ME PATIENTLY.
 
Posted by Samarth on ( October 11 , 2017 )
The members have been really callous. How will they feel if they get into the same tragic situation by quirk of fate? Life is a great leveller. Arrogance will take anyone any where. The members need to vote with conscience and not on the basis of whether they will lose enormous privileges which they are get less than Rs 1 per day. Shame on them. Thanks for highlighting the plight of the hapless section of the racing fraternity.
 
Posted by Sensible on ( October 11 , 2017 )
Kittu Puttu, as along as human race survives, there will be no end to gambling. Gambling take various forms and horse racing is one of them. Can you abolish illegal betting in cricket where money thousands of times more than racing takes place? Gambling is a human nature. They may gamble on their job, business, shares or anything in life. In fact, marriage itself is a gamble. Because of the inherent risks involved, will you abolish the sport itself by cutting off its life line. what is racing without betting. It is like dosa without masala.
 
Posted by M.S.H. on ( October 11 , 2017 )
The gate entry ticket (for race goers) is RS.40/_ and another ?100/_for members enclosure; whereas the BTC members liability, in case of its closure is only ?20/_.A great fun. Who`s money what goes?.shame to be a BTCmember. SHAME SHAME !
 
Posted by Kiran on ( October 11 , 2017 )
I have not come across this sort of a situation in any scenario. The government should simply throw out the BTC and hand over the running of racing to other clubs like Hyderabad Race Club or some other private entity. The CM would have achieved the dual purpose of teaching BTC a lesson and yet save the situation for scores of dependent families. Don`t you think so?
 
Top
   
'


Live Results - Delhi, March 28 2024
 
Disclaimer: The views expressed in Reviews and Analysis depict the personal perspective of the authors only. The website does not subscribe to or endorse any of the same and is not responsible for adverse consequences. Every effort is made to provide accurate information, we are not responsible for any discrepancies that are beyond our control.
© 2008 Racing Pulse. All Rights Reserved. A Racingpulse Holdings Venture