The board that vanished from the covered hall of Baglung Municipality-2 in September 2010 was recently spotted at the hostel of Saraswati Boarding Home, Uppalachaur. Dipendra Banskota, former acting president of District Sports Development Committee (DSDC), Baglung, is the director of the hostel.[break]
An official at DSDC, Baglung has accused Banskota of misusing his authority to steal the board. Banskota allegedly took away the aluminium board, granted by the Chinese government, at the end of his term.
"We went searching for the board that was missing from the covered hall. We found out after a month that the board was taken away by former president Banskota," said Bhimsen Shakya, acting secretary at DSDC.
"Banskota violated the norms by taking away the board without informing anyone," he added.
Table tennis players say they are facing a lot of trouble for training after the one and only board of the district went missing.
"The DSDC has not made any efforts to bring back the board," said a player.
The players had to compete in a table tennis tournament in Biratnagar without any practice while the board lied rotting at the hostel. The players have also been unable to practice for the upcoming Sixth National Games to be held in Dhangadhi in March.
Secretary Shakya said Banskota is delaying the return of the board. "When we ask Banskota to return the board he tells us to bring a tractor and take it away," said Shakya.
Chief District Officer of Baglung Keshab Raj Ghimire said he is unaware about the incident. "We will probe the incident," he said.
Meanwhile, Banskota refuted the claims and said that he has been falsely accused in the case. "It is a sheer lie that the board is in our hostel. The lost board has already been found," he said.
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