Vedanta sponsorship for armwrestler causes doubt

Vedanta University Project (VUP) of Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) today announced to sponsor Orissa’s Rasmirenu Guru for her participation in the 31st World Armwrestling Championship scheduled to be held in Italy from September 6 to 13. VUP Director Sanjeev Anand Jutshi reported to have presented the sponsorship cheque to National runner-up Guru at Puri. But the amount of sponsorship was not disclosed. With the university project coming under scanner, it seemed AAF was trying to divert attention from the controversy by offering an ambiguous sponsorship to a sportswoman of the project related locality. It is alleged that in the name of setting up of a world class university in Puri, AAG is trying to acquire huge amount of land and mineral resources in the state. If the foundation is really interested to promote sports, it should come out with a broader scheme, comprising infrastructure development, sponsorship and employment opportunity rather than a few thousand rupees. A native of Puri, Guru secured the first position in women’s 70kg weight category of the all-India armwrestling championship at last year at Cuttack and finished second in the National championship earlier this year.