Maharashtra ‘rewards’ ace swimmer with a shabby, 25-year-old flat

The doors of the flat are rotting, the windows are broken, and the walls are peeling off.

This is the condition of the 430 sq feet flat allotted by the Maharashtra government to India’s ace swimmer and Olympian Virdhawal Khade.

Not surprisingly, Khade has refused to accept the dilapidated, dingy flat, which, to add insult to injury, was being used as a godown by another resident of the same building.

Also, the flat, located in Lav-Kush Apartments near Jayanti Nullah, has several basic amenities missing. Vikram Khade, the swimmer’s father, told DNA, “The flat given to Virdhawal is 25-years-old. The state government has disgraced Virdhawal by allotting him a flat which is in such a shabby condition.”

The 19-year-old Virdhawal is presently in Germany for training. The state government had decided to give him the flat at a concessional price in recognition of his sporting achievements.

Virdhawal, besides wining 90 gold medals at the national level, has won medals in 40 international meets. He also represented the country in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The state urban development department had approved the flat to Virdhawal on December 1, 2008. The swimmer’s father had written to the Kolhapur district collector on May 15 about the issue.

“We have demanded a flat in good condition in Kolhapur or Pune, as Virdhawal will be relocating close to the Balewadi stadium in Pune,” he said.