Title - All work and no play for ‘harassed’ CR sportsmen

That sportsmen other than cricketers get a raw deal is an open secret. However, DNA found out that it is not only lack of money that is an issue. Players also allege harassment by companies that employ them — Central Railway (CR) for instance.Billiards player Aditya Agrawal who is employed by CR at its Matunga workshop says though the sports department is encouraging, it is difficult for him to improve his game because of harassment by his department members. “My shift is between 9am and 1pm. I have no problem doing my work, but it becomes difficult when I am asked to do work that should be ideally done by someone doing a full-time job. By the time I am done, I am exhausted and this hampers my game,” he said.Agrawal isn’t a one-off case. A CR official said there were several other players facing similar problems. “A new divisional railway manager joined us eight months ago. He feels that everyone, including sports persons, must contribute the same amount of work. It is unfair on the players because they are not qualified officials. They have been hired by CR to play and that is their main job,” the official told DNA.The official said recently over 140 letters had to be sanctioned to allow players to take part in various competitions for CR, but that did not happen. “The players had to take leave from their pending leaves instead of the CR granting them permission to go and play,” he said. Some prominent CR players include long-distance runner Lathika Babbar who came second in the Stayfree DNA I Can Women’s Half Marathon held last month. Several international-level kho kho players and cueists are also employed with CR. The official said the CR general manager had been apprised of the issue. He said he will look into the matter and find a solution so that players are able to play - the reason they were hired by C