Picture Credit: Twitter
Delhi's Principal Secretary, Sanjeev Khirwar, is facing a lot of backlash allegedly for walking his pet dog at the behest of athletes' training session at the Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium.
According to a report in Indian Express, coaches and athletes are asked to empty the stadium by 7 pm so that the officer could walk his dog on the ground.
However, the IAS officer has called the allegations false. “I would never ask an athlete to leave the stadium that belongs to them. Even if I visit, I go after the stadium is supposed to close…We don’t leave him (the pet) on the track…when no one is around we leave him but never at the cost of any athlete. If it’s something objectionable, I will stop," he told the publication.
Built for the purpose of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the centrally located sporting complex is a multi-discipline facility for national, state athletes, and footballers. The stadium administrator Ajit Chaudhary was quoted in a report saying he is not aware of any officer using the facility for walking their pets as he leaves the stadium by 7 pm. "This (stadium) is also a government office under the Delhi government. I am not aware of any such thing (an official using the facilities to walk his dog). I leave the stadium by seven pm, and I am unaware," Chaudhary said.
Soon after the story went viral, the government announced that the stadium will now remain open till 10 PM.