The government of Haryana announced today that winners at the Paralympics would receive the same prize money from the state as Olympic medal winners. Making the announcement to press at the 16th Senior National Para-athletic Championship, Manohar Lal Khattar, chief minister of host state Haryana, said that prizes for gold, silver and bronze winners at either event would be on par.
Gold medal winners would receive 6 crore, silver medallists 4 crore and bronze 2.5 crore.
Khattar also made a series of other announcements relating to the improvement of sporting facilties in Haryana. The Chief Minister promised that athletes would have access to sporting facilities at international standards, and that the state would see a new paralympic committee headquartered in the city.
Also at the event was India’s union minister for social justice and empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar, said there were concrete plans to help the physically challenged population of India, and discussed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supposed plans to spearhead an Accessible India Campaign to that end.
Paralympians would have job assurance, both Khattar and Gurjar said, and the pair said there were plans to set up dedicated colleges for the physically handicapped, while also increasing scholarships and bursaries at existing institutions.
