Union ministry sanctiones assistance to family of sportsperson Nitisha Negi

On 29th December, Union Sports Minister Col Rajyavardhan Rathore has sanctioned ex-gratia assistance of Rs. 5 lakh to the family of Nitisha Negi, the teenage footballer who drowned in the sea at Glenelg beach in Adelaide, Australia, on September 10, 2017. The financial assistance was provided under the ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons’. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide suitable assistance to outstanding sportspersons living in indigent circumstances/injured during the period of their training for competitions. Nitisha from Delhi had gone to Australia for the Pacific School Games, when she and four other teammates got into trouble. Four of the girls were rescued by lifesavers while Nitisha was found dead near a rocky breakwater.