Kabaddi may not be a popular game among majority of Indians anymore, but the almost-forgotten sport might become a means of livelihood for young inmates of West Bengal’s prisons.
The state department of prisons has joined hands with the West Bengal Kabaddi Association (WBKA) to groom young prisoners in the 20-25 age group so that they can play on behalf of various clubs affiliated to the association.
The initiative is a brainchild of additional director general (prisons) Bangshidhar Sharma. He feels Kabaddi training will not only make young inmates disciplined in their approach towards life, but also give them an opportunity to lead a normal life after their release from the prisons.
Sharma said ever since the West Bengal government renamed state prisons as correctional homes, it started giving various skill development training to the inmates so that they were not forced to return to the world of crime again.
Though the prisoners were earlier trained in handicraft, music and painting, Sharma was thinking of including sports as a skill development tool for quite sometime.
“A few months back, I came to know that British prisons are teaching their young inmates to play Kabaddi. This was being done to improve relations between prisoners coming from different racial backgrounds. I then approached WBKA and the association immediately agreed to help us in this new initiative,” Sharma said.
A WBKA spokesperson said though Kabaddi has lost its appeal among youth, prior to this, the government had not taken any initiative to develop it in an organised way.
“The prison department was the first to approach us to help develop the sport in an organised manner, hence we readily agreed. We will not only train, but also help them in getting enrolled with different Kabaddi clubs affiliated to us,” he said.
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