BAJHANG, July 30: Government employees and contractors in Bajhang have been accused of gambling under the pretext of playing badminton every morning.

The district police chief, government office chiefs and contractors in the district have been betting between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per game of badminton played between themselves at the district administration office of Bajhang. Instead of taking action against this, the Chief District Officer (CDO) has been a regular spectator of these matches unaware about the gambling.

“I was pleased by the fact that the people's representatives, government employees and contractors would come together every morning to play badminton. I used to watch the games and clap at times showing my support to the players,” CDO Prem Singh Kunwar said, adding, “But two days ago, I came to know that heavy amounts were put on line for the game.”

CDO Kunwar added that immediate action will be taken against the people involved in the game.

“It is very exciting to watch the matches. I go and watch the matches every day and support the good players. But we rarely get the chance to play as there is heavy gambling on the matches. We have to return home without playing. We are only allowed to watch the games,” said Ganesh Raj Joshi, principal of Bal Bikash Boarding School. He admitted that even he bets in the games when he has sufficient money.

Due to the shortage of sports field in the district, the ground of the district administration office has been used as a playground for a long time. Only the ones who have links with the administration have the access to this ground.

“There isn't any proper sports field in the district. The government officials and police have been using the ground for playing games with money on the stake. Even though we want to play, we are not allowed to do so because we don't have the money,” a former sportsman of the district, Deepak Bhandari, said.

 
• gambling
 
• bajhang
 
• dao