NOCs agree to end disputes
The parallel bodies of Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) today reached an agreement of moving forward together for the sake of sports fraternity.
The two parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding to end the almost decade-long dispute. President Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan and General Secretary Jeevan Ram Shrestha signed the MoU from the internationally-recognised body, while President Rukma Shumsher Rana represented the committee recognised by the Supreme Court. “Taking the interest of sports in Nepal, and the Olympic Movement, we have, amicably agreed to move ahead for the settlement of Nepal Olympic Committee,” the MoU read.
Two committees were in existence when Supreme Court on October 4, 2010 ordered the government to work with the body led by Rana reacting to a writ petition filed by Prasanna Man Shrestha and Kamal Chitrakar one year after Pradhan and his team was elected from the General Assembly in 2007.
As Pradhan-led committee was recognised by the International Olympic Committee, the National Sports Council had been forced to coordinate with it to send players for international participations.
Rana said the agreement was the beginning of new era. “We have made a deal which will help us in moving forward and the agreement is about ending all the disputes for the overall development of Nepali sports,” Rana said. “We have inked an important agreement today and it will end all the controversies of Nepali sports once and forever,” he added.
NOC General Secretary Shrestha said the move was inevitable for the development of Nepali Sports. “The agreement has ended the dual existence of NOC and we have agreed to move forward as a team,” Shrestha said. “I think it will bring new energy in Nepali sports fraternity and all the stakeholders will be excited,” he added. “We welcome our friends who want to take responsibility and work together for the cause of Nepali sports and Olympic Movement.”
Shrestha added: “The agreement is an achievement in ending disputes and work for the development of sports.”
