BCB CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS AND EFFECTS (1)
BCB welfare trust stalled
It has been eight months since the Bangladesh Cricket Board is being run by an ad hoc committee. A constitutional crisis the resolution of which is pending with court prevented the BCB from holding an election, giving the Nazmul Hasan-led committee an extended time in office. The crisis already started taking its toll on the organisation and in this series of reports, we look into subjects badly affected by the absence of an elected body.
Plans for the long-awaited Bangladesh Cricket Welfare Trust continue to gather dust as the BCB has been unable to finalise the Board of Trustees in the absence of a regular elected committee.
The BCB has been discussing the welfare trust since the untimely deaths of cricketers Manzarul Islam and Sazzadul Islam, who died in a road accident in their home town of Khulna in March 2007.
The decision to form the welfare trust was confirmed in a meeting on February 7, 2009 when it was decided that the BCB would donate Tk 36 lakh to the fund.
Of that amount, Tk 26 lakh would come from a sundry fund and another Tk 10 lakh had to be raised by selling autographed bats.
The BCB also decided to take a portion of the players’ cut of national team sponsorship proceeds and donate it to the fund, reducing the players’ share from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
The constitution of the welfare trust was approved in another BCB meeting on July 29, 2010, with players, coaches, match referees, umpires, scorers, organisers, administrators, curators, groundsmen, physiotherapists and computer analysts all set as beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries would receive financial, medical, logistical, social and mental support from the welfare trust in their times of need.
The BCB later enlisted Ahmed Khan and Company, a chartered accountant firm, to finalise details of fund.
Nizamuddin Chowdury, the acting chief executive officer of the BCB, said that the firm had duly completed its job and all that remains is to confirm the board of trustees before the welfare trust takes its final shape.
‘Since this is an election time we are not in a rush,’ Chowdhury told New Age. ‘We will confirm the board of trustees as soon as an elected body takes charge. There is a chance the entire board of directors may act as the board of trustees for the welfare trust.’
Chowdhury claimed that, despite the absence of a welfare trust, the BCB is supporting the players, organisers and others as much as it can.
‘We recently donated Tk five lakh for Mridul [BCB staff member and former national cricketer] who died of illness. We also gave Tk 50,000 to the mother of a groundsman in Chittagong after his death.’
‘Cricketers are also getting support through our insurance policy. We now have 120 cricketers on our payroll and they all are getting some kind of benefit,’ said the BCB executive.
‘The national team players were given Tk one crore insurance coverage for accidental death, while the amount is Tk 50 lakh for other players on our payroll.
‘Also, they are getting Tk five lakh and Tk three lakh of insurance coverage respectively for medical expenses,’ he said.
However, with the high cost of injury treatment in today’s game, the amount is insignificant, according to players.
-With New Age input
