Olympian Renuka’s special appointment as DSP in limbo after change of guard
   Date :24-Aug-2020

Renuka Yadav_1  
 
 
By Partha Sarathi Behera :
 
Raipur,
 
The one and only woman Olympian hockey player from Chhattisgarh, Renuka Yadav is running from pillar to post for special appointment as DSP for over 2 yrs 
 
It seems, the change of guard of Chhattisgarh Government has put on test the special appointment of a woman international hockey player to become a state police official. The 26-year-old mid-fielder from the hockey nursery of India, Rajnandgaon, has been repeatedly assured of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) over the last two years, but in vain. She has represented India at Rio Olympics in 2016 and major international tournaments prior to it.
 
Renuka Yadav, the one and only woman Olympian athlete of Chhattisgarh, is running from pillar to the post for a special appointment in state departments. Former Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh had in 2016, during a National Sports Day programme, had offered Renuka the job of DSP in Chhattisgarh Police provided she completes her higher secondary studies (Class XII) successfully as she was 10th pass during that time. The former Chief Minister also felicitated Renuka for representing Women Hockey team of India at Rio Olympics in 2016.
 
Even as Renuka is working for Indian railways since 2014, she is keen to serve State and therefore she expressed her feelings for the same to the former Chief Minister. As per instructions of Dr Singh, Renuka joined a school to pursue higher secondary study while continuing her game and managed to qualify 12th Board Examination in the year 2018. Since then, Renuka has been pleading for the special appointment, promised to her by the former Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh. However, Chhattisgarh witnessed a change in guard and Bhupesh Baghel succeeded Dr Singh as Chief Minister of State. Renuka told this newspaper that she has written a number of letters to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and met him twice or thrice, highlighting the promise made to her for a special appointment.
 
One of the letters was submitted to CM Baghel on August 20, 2019, said Renuka who has been representing India in the international hockey tournaments since 2012. Moreover, former Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh wrote a letter to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in November, 2019 reminding the commitment he had made to Renuka and subsequently urging Baghel to look into the matter. Unfortunately, no action is being initiated, said Renuka. “I would like to request Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for kind consideration of my application and give me special appointment to the post of DSP,” Renuka said. Renuka also expressed concern over District Administration’s apathy towards making registration of her house in Rajnandgaon.
 
“My house is built on government land and I have spent all my money which I had earned from my Olympic trip. The State Government had promised to make the registration of the land in her name, but nobody is paying heed to her repeated reminder,” Renuka said. It is worthwhile to mention, the journey of Renuka Yadav, who comes from a lower middle-class family, has been arduous. Renuka used to go door-to-door to sell milk as her parents worked as domestic help. Defying all odds, she became a key member of women’s hockey of India. The significance of Rio Olympics was that Indian women’s team qualified for the prestigious event after a gap of 36 years.