Odisha athletes forced to sit near toilets due to lack of confirmed tickets, Minister says "will look into matter"
Sambhalpur, December 25
In a shocking incident, a group of 18 athletes from Odisha endured severe hardships as they were made to sit near the toilets during their train journey to participate in the National School Wrestling Championship in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia.
The contingent, comprising 10 boys and 8 girls, had to travel in a general coach near the train washrooms in biting cold due to the lack of confirmed tickets.
Following the incident, Odisha Education Minister Nityananda Gond took cognizance and said that the matter will be carefully looked into, followed by an inquiry, adding that action will be taken after gathering the exact details of the incident.
"I have been informed that our students who travelled to UP for the national championships encountered inconvenience during their train journey due to a ticket issue. We will certainly look into this and initiate an inquiry into what happened. Then we will take any action," Gond told ANI.
Basnabi Pattnaik, one of the athletes travelling with the contingent, expressed strong outrage over the incident, saying the group had to bear hardships. She urged the government to provide special reservations for sportspersons to ensure that no athlete has to face such an ordeal in the future.
Speaking to ANI, she said, "I study in class 9. We went to Ballia for our National School Wrestling Championship. We had to face many difficulties because our tickets were not confirmed. Only two seats were confirmed, where the coaches were sleeping. While returning, we had to sit near the train's bathroom. We had to travel for about 36 hours. We demand from the government that no other sportsperson should suffer something like this, and a special reservation should be made for them."
Sanjeeb Pattnaik, the athlete's father, added to his daughter's ordeal, saying, "My daughter is a wrestler. She went to play the National School Wrestling Championship. During the journey, there was a lot of disorganisation. They didn't have confirmed tickets. The athletes were sitting outside the bathroom, near the toilets. I saw everything, and I felt very sad. The athletes were eating and drinking right there in the train, wherever they were sitting. In total, 18 athletes went - eight girls and ten boys - along with two coaches and two managers."
— ANI
Reader Comments
Very sad to hear this. The minister says "will look into it" but this is a basic failure of planning. Who organised the trip? Why were confirmed tickets not booked in advance for a national event? Accountability is needed, not just promises.
As someone who travels frequently on Indian trains, I understand the ticket confirmation issue is real. But for an official contingent? This points to serious mismanagement. The athletes' demand for special reservation is valid and should be implemented nationwide.
My heart goes out to those children, especially the girls. Sitting near the bathroom for that long is not just uncomfortable, it's unsafe and unhygienic. Kudos to the young athlete Basnabi for speaking up. Hope this leads to concrete change. 🙏
This is the reality for many ordinary Indians traveling without confirmed tickets. But it should not be the reality for our sportspersons. If we want medals, we need to support our athletes from the grassroots up, starting with basic travel dignity.
While the incident is regrettable, I hope the inquiry is fair and looks at all sides. Sometimes logistical errors happen. The important thing is to put a system in place so it never happens again. The minister's response seems appropriate—investigate first, then act.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.