Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government surrendered to the demand for jobs made by scores of meritorious sportspersons, who had been protesting before the state Secretariat for 17 days.
Minister for Sports, V Abdurahiman said that the government has agreed to employ 24 sportspersons immediately in various departments. The minister made the statement after an hour-long meeting with the sportspersons and their representatives on Friday.
As for the other 54 sportspersons, whose employment issue has not been resolved, the government has decided to set up an eight-member committee.
The committee to be headed by the sports secretary and comprising former athletes, including the president of the Kerala State Sports Council, Mercy Kuttan, has been asked to table its report within 45 days.
"We have resolved their issues and the government has nothing more to do in this regard. The 24 persons will get their jobs in two months," minister Abdurahiman told media persons.
Meanwhile, the protesting sportspersons said that they were ending their strike in light of the promise given by the LDF government.
They had adopted various methods of protest, including tonsuring, and crawling, rolling and kneeling on the road. The protesters had highlighted irregularities in filling the 50 annual sports quota seats in government departments.
Manorama News had conducted a campaign, 'Jayichittum Thottavar' (Those who lost despite winning) highlighting the plight of numerous sportspersons in Kerala, who were unemployed.
