BCCI money given to Usha's athletics academy: Maken

A portion of the Indian Cricket Board’s contribution of Rs 50 crore to the National Sports Development Fund has been provided to Olympian P T Usha’s academy in Kerala for its upgradation, sports minister Ajay Maken said today. Usha runs her athletics academy in Kerala and has been producing a number of national level athletes, including the talented Tintu Luka who has qualified for the 800m in London Olympics. [caption id=“attachment_354438” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Usha runs her athletics academy in Kerala and has been producing a number of national level athletes. AFP”]  [/caption] Maken gave a break-up on the spending of Rs 10 crore out of the Rs 80 crore BEST Fund (BCCI-NSDF Elite Sports Talent Fund) that was jointly created back in 2008. “The Ministry has given 4 crore to PT Usha’s institute,” Maken told mediapersons today when asked about BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale’s letter enquiring about how the fund has been utilised by the ministry. Apart from Rs 4 crore, another Rs 6 crore has been sanctioned to the government of Jammu and Kashmir for a multi-purpose sports stadium. “Rs 6 crore has been sanctioned to the government of Jammu and Kashmir for the multi-purpose sports stadium. This is about 10 crore break-up. One can go to the RTI (Right to Information) Act and ask for further information. It is all transparent,” Maken stated. PTI