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Digital not at all! Swimming

Anisur Rahman
With just over a month to go before the 11 th South Asian Games, the Bangladesh Swimming Federation has been sweating to get the service of the 16-year-old electronic scoreboard.
Installed during the 1993 SA Games, the electronic scoreboard has not been functioning properly for years and despite repeated requests from the federation to install a new one, the National Sports Council (NSC) has decided to fix the existing one for the regional extravaganza that commences from January 29.
The NSC, country's sports regulatory body, has been working to repair the years-old electronic board for the last two and a half months but they were yet to make it fully functional for a successful trail.
The Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) has so far arranged three trails but on every occasion the electronic device did not function properly in all eight lanes of the pool.
Last time on December 23, a trial was arranged in presence of State Minister for Youth and Sport Ahad Ali Sarker, who expressed his disappointment having seen that the board was not functioning.
The delay in fixing the device is not only depriving the swimmers to assess their own performance but also putting the hosts in a spot of bother with time flying quickly.
The NSC decided against installing a new electronic scoreboard citing shortage of funds.
Many believe it was the lamest of excuses considering the budget allocated for the Games, which is not less than Taka 122 crore including a mind-boggling Taka 39 crore for the opening and closing ceremonies.
An electronic scoreboard, as it was learnt, costs Taka 3.5 crore and it is not understandable whether this device, an integral part of modern day swimming, should be the number one in the priority list or a hefty budget for something that will blow in a whisker. FROM PAGE 17
The NSC has also decided to build new structures for the Games, but their callousness only reflected a gross misconception of a nation that buys electric poles forgetting the fact that it is not putting in a single kilowatt of electricity in the already busted national grid.
"We will not take the responsibility if the board malfunctions during the Games because the NSC takes the responsibility of repairing it," said BSF general secretary Mahbubur Rahman, adding that the repair venture might embarrass the whole nation during the 12-day spectacle.
"At present, the board can be used for domestic competitions but not for international events and 1 think we still have time to install a new one to save the blues," said Rahman.
NSC director of development and planning Abdur Rahman, who is in charge to fix the scoreboard, however did not respond despite repeated calls from The Daily Star Sport.