University students who won quiz at Marathi literary meet say they got only half the promised prize money

Lit meet organisers going back on word: quiz winners

University students who won quiz at Marathi literary meet say they got only half the promised prize money
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Marathi literary meets are not new to controversy. The 83rd edition of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in the city has also seen one now, with students of the University of Pune alleging they were duped by the organisers.

Students of the university's Marathi Department had participated and won one of the pre-event competitions of the sahitya sammelan.
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But they alleged that after winning the literary quiz based on the works of eight Marathi writers, for which they prepared for more than six weeks, they were given only half the promised prize money and goodies.

Nanasaheb Gavhane (23), an MS second-year student and member of the winning team, said they were notified of the contest on Marathi literature in February.

"Our team of four participated and won the contest after competing with several others," said Gavhane. "But during the prize distribution we got a shock as instead of the promised Rs 10,000, we got only half the amount."

Haresh Shelke (24), an MPhil student, alleged that even the non-cash prizes were of much less value than promised.

"They had said they would give us books worth Rs 10,000, but even these turned out to be worth only about Rs 5,000, and it was mediocre literature at that," said Shelke. "Later, when we complained to our professors and they approached the organisers, they were spoken to in an insulting manner."

Shelke added that the organisers told them they should be happy with the prize money as they "would not get even that much" at other events. "Now they have asked us to return the books and that they will give us another Rs 5,000. But what about the books we were to get?" said Shelke. "While they are spending crores on getting dignitaries to the meet, they are cheating students of Marathi literature."

Dr Manohar Jadhav, head of the university's Marathi Department, confirmed the incident and said the organisers had reneged on their promise. "Not only did they go back on their word, they even proceeded to insult us.

When I called them up, they didn't think about my seniority and asked me things like I should name my students' price. They asked me, 'How much money do you want? Rs 5,000? Rs 50,000?' What they did was unethical," said Jadhav.

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