Sports Minister announces massive hike in prize money of National Sports Awards
New Delhi: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday officially announced a massive hike in the prize money in four of the seven categories of the National Sports and Adventure Awards, which were given away in a virtual ceremony this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prize money for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award has been increased to a whopping Rs 25 lakh from the previous amount of Rs 7.5 lakh, while Arjuna Award has been enhanced to Rs 15 lakh from Rs 5 lakh.
The Dhronacharya (Lifetime) awardees, who were earlier given Rs 5 lakh, will now be richer by Rs 15 lakh, while Dhronacharya (Regular) winners will be given Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh.
The prize money of Dhyan Chand Award has been increased to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 5 lakh. The hike will come into effect from this year.
"The prize money for the Sports Awards was last reviewed in 2008. These amounts should be reviewed once every 10 years at least. If professionals in every field have seen an enhancement in their earnings, why not our sportspersons," Rijiju said in a release.
Star cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, paddler Manika Batra and Rio Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu are part of an unprecedented five picked for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year.
Besides, a whopping 27 athletes have been chosen for the Arjuna Award, while 13 coaches will be conferred with the Dronacharya Award and 15 others have been short-listed for the Dhyan Chand honour.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
