Flagrant violation of the right of sportsmen: Former bureaucrat slams IAS Sanjeev Khirwar over 'walk the dog' controversy

Former Principal Accountant General and BJD Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik on Thursday hit out at the IAS officer and Delhi's Principal Revenue Secretary Sanjeev Khirwar, who vacated the Thyagraj Stadium for walking his dog, terming the incident as 'outrageous' and a violation of the right of sportsmen.

Speaking to ANI Amar Patnaik said, "Nothing can be more outrageous than this. This is a flagrant violation of not just the rules but a flagrant violation of the rights of the sportsmen who are supposed to use this Stadium." Former Principal Accountant General Patnaik demanded action against the IAS officer by the Delhi government and the Centre.

"It is not the IAS officer and his dog who are supposed to use the stadium. In normal circumstances, a dog would have entered the stadium and shooed away. I think disciplinary proceedings would take a long time so a fine should be imposed on him and recovered from his salary," he added.

In a media report over the past few months, athletes and coaches at the Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium have been complaining about being forced to wrap training earlier than usual, by 7 pm. The reason, according to them, is that Delhi's Principal Secretary (Revenue) Sanjeev Khirwar walks his dog at the facility for about half an hour.

A 1994 batch IAS officer, Khirwar is currently the revenue commissioner of Delhi. He is also the secretary of the Environment Department of Delhi.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered that all government-run sports facilities should stay open till 10 pm.

Published on: Thursday, May 26, 2022, 06:41 PM IST