Mumbai, April 16: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plans to support the exiled female cricketers from Afghanistan will be bankrolled via contributions by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Australia (CA), a report claimed on Wednesday.

The initiative to assist Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers, which will include coaching and mentorship, “will be constituted through a dedicated fund,” and it will be fully funded by the ICC and the three boards.

An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the fund will not include any contribution from the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ACB will continue to receive its full amount from the ICC.

The ICC has recently announced that it will put in place a plan to support women cricketers exiled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country and banned the participation of females in sports and disbanded the teams.

“Last year, the prospect of ring-fencing an amount for women’s cricket from the ACB’s portion of the ICC’s revenue distributions was discussed but that plan did not come to fruition. The ACB is the only Full Member board that does not field a women’s team, and is not able to because of the severe restrictions on women’s rights after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report claimed.

The report also said, the ICC’s latest plan to engage with Afghanistan’s female cricketers neither amounts to official recognition nor does it clear the path for Afghanistan to field a women’s team, as such a team can only be ratified by the ACB. Instead, the ICC hopes to work with Afghanistan’s female cricketers to provide them with both access to the game and funding for further education.

“The ICC does not select a team for Afghanistan. Rather, we are committed to addressing the complexities of the issue and finding a solution that fits within the ICC’s legal and constitutional framework,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The report also confirmed that the ICC’s initiative will not be limited to the 19 Afghan cricketers resident in Australia but, “the plan is to include all displaced Afghan women cricketers regardless of their location.”

The ICC has so far not clarified on what will the Afghanistan women cricketers in exile do after getting coaching and mentorship from this fund.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi has termed the reduction in the installment of Ladli sisters as a fraud. He said that the way cash is illegally distributed for votes on election night, one thousand and two thousand rupees are distributed in the areas for votes per person, in the same way, women were lured under the Ladli sister scheme before the elections. This is a kind of deception of the Mahayoti government and now that the meaning has been revealed, they do not recognize it. He said that will the Mahayoti government also return the votes of these Ladli sisters that these sisters had given to them in the elections? He said that due to the Ladli sister scheme, the government treasury was burdened. The salaries of government employees, doctors and other staff have also been paid late, in such a situation, the government has deceived the Ladli sisters. After the elections, an increase in the installment was announced and a promise was made to give Rs 2100, but now it has been reduced from Rs 1500 to Rs 500. The government had included more than two crore women in the Ladli Behan scheme, but now they are being disqualified using excuses and tricks. This is a betrayal of the sisters who have voted.

Mumbai, Mumbai – The government land given to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in Survey No. 341 in Bandra (East) area in 1983 for the office of “National Herald”, Nehru Library and Research Centre has been misused, the investigation report of the Gautam Chatterjee Committee has revealed. In this backdrop, RTI activist Anil Galgali has written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding immediate action.
The investigation report says that 83 thousand square feet of construction has been done on the land, including 11 thousand square feet of basement and additional use of 9 thousand square feet of upper floor, which is in violation of the rules. As per the rules, only 15 percent commercial use was allowed, but this has also been violated. In addition, additional land allocated for the hostel was also given to the institution ignoring the rules.
In 2001, under a controversial order of the Revenue Department, the leased land was converted into direct ownership and interest of ₹ 2.78 crore was waived, which the committee has declared against the rules and recommended its review.
Anil Galgali has made the following demands to the Chief Minister through a letter. Legal action should be initiated to take back the said land to the government.
The waived interest amount and additional penalty should be recovered. A hostel for backward class students should be started on one floor of the building. Instructions should be given to start a library and research centre on the remaining land. Gautam Chatterjee’s investigation report should be made public.
Anil Galgali said, “It is very important to ensure fair justice in this matter and use the government land in the public interest.”