Andhra Pradesh: Parents demand more funds for sports infra

Anantapur: The local Indoor stadium maintained by District Sports Authority bubbles with life every day with scores of government high school students seen engaged in multiple sports activities including throw ball, football, hockey, tennis and archery at the sprawling stadium premises. The parents of children, however, feel that going by the enthusiasm of high school students, who throng to indoor stadium every day, more mini-stadiums need to be developed to cater to the sports lovers aspirations. Rama Krishna, a college lecturer, whose ambition is to make his son a tennis player, says that the government should increase budgetary support to sports academies so that sports infrastructure can be developed both in urban and rural areas. The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), as part of its policy, has developed 4 out of 10 stadiums in different mandals. Each stadium construction costs Rs 2 crore each. In the first phase, the SAAP sanctioned four green field stadiums in the district at a cost of Rs 2.1 crore each. The 4 stadiums include the Assembly constituencies of Kalyandurg, Singanamala, Raptadu and Penukonda. Also, Rs 8.4 crore for the construction of four more stadiums at Narpala in Singanamala constituency, Kalyandurg town in Kalyandurg constituency, Ramagiri in Raptadu constituency and Penukonda town in Penukonda constituency had been set apart.

The sports facilities in the stadiums include indoor stadium, pavillion building, shopping complex and play fields for basketball, volleyball, lawn tennis, kabaddi, kho-kho, cricket and 200 metre athletic track.

District Sports Authority sources told The Hans India that four stadiums, all in rural areas built by the SAAP, would boost rural sports and raise several sportsmen and women. He called upon all sports lovers to take full advantage of the sports facilities in the district and help groom rural sports persons and talent.

District Sports Development Officer Jaganath Reddy told The Hans India that youngsters in rural schools and colleges are highly talented and energetic. One can see young boys and girls playing cricket without sports kits. The rural youth can be seen using tree vertical branch stems as wickets and similar wooden sticks resembling a bat and playing the game with utmost dedication.