HYDERABAD: Even stage four cancer could not deter him from imparting lessons in gymnastics. N Brij Kishore(51), the coach of Aruna Budda Reddy -- who recently became the first Indian to clinch a medal at the Gymnastics World Cup -- breathed his last at the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in the city on Thursday morning. The state government had on March 25 handed a cheque for Rs 25 lakh to the coach —who worked under the Sports Authority of Telangana State — to help meet the expenses of the treatment. However, the coach’s family has not been able to encash the amount, almost two weeks after the cheque was presented, owing to administrative hurdles.
“We went to the treasury branch of SBI, but there seems to be some problem. The officials at the bank said that the cheque has not been cleared due to some budget issues with SATS,” one of the close relatives of Brij Kishore told Express.
TNIE had reported about the difficulties the family had been facing to meet the treatment expenses, even though `2 lakh was given as aid by SATS on February 26. Aruna had been receiving tips for the Commonwealth Games on call, even though Brij Kishore could barely speak. The relative revealed that a total of more than `5.5 lakh was spent on treatment. “We were able to do all of this because of some well-wishers in the family.”
When contacted, SATS vice-chairman and managing director A Dinakar Babu said that the quandary will be sorted within two to three days. “Things like these take a little time to be cleared. The cheque has to go from the bank to the finance department. Many levels of clearances are required since a lot of officials are involved. We have written to the finance department. The issue will be sorted within two to three days,” Dinakar Babu said. It must be noted that state Sports Minister Padma Rao Goud and SATS chairman A Venkateshwar Reddy are on a visit to Australia for the Commonwealth Games.