RANCHI: International football player Sangeeta Soren, who has been forced to take up the job of a daily wage labourer in a brick kiln due to financial crisis, will be engaged as a coach at ‘Football Day Boarding Centre for Girls’ to be set up in Dhanbad by the State Government.
Notably, the plight of Sangeeta was published prominently in ‘The New Indian Express’ on Saturday following which the National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognizance and wrote a letter to Jharkhand Chief Secretary and All India Football Federation to intervene and help out the 20-year-old Sangeeta.
Union Minister for Youth and Sports Kiren Rujuju also ensured all support to Sangeeta and dignified life for athletes in the Country through his tweeter handle. Acting swiftly on the directions of NCW, Baghmara Block Development Officer (BDO) Sunil Kumar Prajapati visited her place and provided immediate relief to her by handing over cash assistance and ration to her.
“The Block Development Officer, along with some other officials, had visited my home today and provided some financial assistance along with ration. They also ensured that they will be making arrangements for some regular source of income for me,” said Sangeeta.
Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner informed that Rs 1 lakh will be sanctioned for Sangeeta under ‘Khiladi Kalyan Kosh’ of the State Government within 3 days, besides providing her a regular source of income. Sangeeta was also offered an outsourced job in Bharat Cocking Coal Limited (BCCL) but she apparently denied it, he said.
“We are proposing one Football Day Boarding Centre for Girls at Dhanbad where she will be employed as a coach. It will give her a regular source of income as well as an impetus for the girl players,” said Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Uma Shankar Singh.
The report with the headline ‘International footballer forced to work as a daily wage labourer in brick kiln’ published in ‘The New Indian Express’ had widely described how, despite all odds, Sangeeta ensures to take out time for practicing football at the nearby stadium every morning.
She grew up playing football along with the boys in her village Bansmudi near Dhanbad and later joined the girl’s football club in Dhanbad to hone her skills. Within two years of her football career, she was selected for the International Football tournament in Bhutan and Thailand in 2018-19.
Everything was fine and she was working hard with full dedication chasing her passion, but all of a sudden the pandemic disturbed the financial condition of her family and she was forced to take up the job of a daily wage labourer at a local brick kiln.