Official-Rockfall-Hit Sports Climbers May Face Ban

A chain of events has been reported, when a small innocuous pebble started off a veritable rockfall of ‘official’ wrath, intimidation and ultimately ungentlemanly manhandling of a lady competitor.

During the opening day briefings, when the organizers clarified the rules/regulations/codes of conduct of the tournament, the participants came to know, surprisingly for the first time, that they would have to stay on at the accommodation provided for them at the venue (Salt Lake stadium) for the entire duration of the competition, and even the local participants shall not be allowed to go home after the day’s events are over.

This travel restriction was conspicuous by its absence in the application forms the participants had to fill-up, and it took the local participants by surprise, as they had no prior intimation regarding this unilateral and arbitrary regulation.

Ms. Mahua Biswas, a local senior competitor, reported that, she immediately voiced her concern and requested that she be permitted to go home for a few hours, so that she could bring her personal effects and tend to her ailing mother. This request was summarily denied by the committee members. She requested an audience, to plead her case, with the Director of the department, who was also present there, but this prayer too was denied. After the end of the day's events, she again personally pleaded with Mr. Debdas Nandi to allow her to go home for just two hours but he refused it in no uncertain terms, and allegedly threatened her with disqualification if she disobeyed his orders. Perforce she stayed back at the venue overnight.

Next day, on 22^nd Feb. 2023 forenoon, Mahua with nine other competitors submitted a plea to the Director of Youth Services Dept with a copy to the Principal Secretary, Govt of West Bengal, detailing the enforcement of an ‘unilateral arbitrary inhumane travel restriction’.

This proved to be the tipping point, and a veritable rock fall of wrath descended on the competitors who were signatories to the letter. They were allegedly threatened with disqualification if they did not disown/withdraw their plea to the Director.

With little or no choice, eight competitors recanted, and abseiled down the official top-rope of forgiveness offered by the organizers.

Mahua Biswas and Rohit Biswas, trusting their own anchors, refused to down-climb and were inevitability disqualified and expelled from the competition.

On the 24^th Feb, during the closing ceremony, Mahua presented a silent question at the auditorium. She stood silently at the back with a placard saying, "what is my fault?”

It came to the attention of the audience, the Committee, and Debdas Nandi, who marched up to her, dragged her by the hand out of the auditorium, tore up her placard, demanding how she could have the guts to do such a thing. This entire demeaning episode has videographic evidence; and one would imagine that it would take more guts to hang on to a rock face, with one’s finger and toes, than to raise a valid question in public. 

Click for the video

Debdas Nandi had no further comments. Another Jury Member, Mr Debraj Dutta was more forthcoming. He clarified, without much clarity, that they were disqualified for violating the codes of conduct, and that the allegations in the letter were false and that Mahua had forced the others to sign it. Another Jury member, Raju Karmakar says the same. Ms Deepali Sinha, another senior member of the Governing Committee has also refused to comment.

Why an innocuous, humane request made humbly could lead to this high-handed, inhumane and wrathful rock-fall, leading to casualties, begs an answer.