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Non-sporting events damage ground
Sports development in temple city took a backseat as one and only multipurpose Tarakarama Stadium of Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) is being used for non-sport events. The stadium was established in 1984 and known for hosting national and international sporting events in Rayalaseema region.
Tirupati: Sports development in temple city took a backseat as one and only multipurpose Tarakarama Stadium of Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) is being used for non-sport events. The stadium was established in 1984 and known for hosting national and international sporting events in Rayalaseema region.
The stadium has facilities for practicing and playing cricket, hockey, football, basketball, lawn tennis, 400 metres track with pavilion and galleries. The ground hosted Ranji cricket matches from 1984 to 1992. Indian cricketers, who excelled in international cricket, like VB Chandrasekhar, W Raman, Robin Singh, Roger Binny, Sadanand Viswanath, Gundappa Viswanath, and Brijesh Patel have played matches in Tarakarama Stadium.
Over the years, the stadium did not witness any major sporting activity due to the negligence of policy makers and successive ruling governments. From 2014, the ruling Telugu Desam government has been using the stadium for non-sport events like public meetings, official and entertainment programmes. As a result, athletic track and cricket pitch were damaged.
The AP Tourism department has decided to conduct a four-day state-level crafts festival from November 2 to 5 at Tarakarama Stadium. On the instructions of the Tourism officials, ground was dug at several spots in the stadium to set up stalls for crafts mela.
The stadium became non-useful for conducting sports as ground has been dug indiscriminately for hosting various events. Under the pressure from ruling party leaders and district administration, the SVU officials are allotting the stadium for non-sporting activities. It is a pathetic situation as hundreds of sports men and women practise their respective events every day without proper facilities. The varsity officials have failed to maintain drinking water and toilet facilities in the stadium.
There is no proper lighting and security to protect the sports equipment in the stadium. Three months ago, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, while participating in state Independence Day celebrations on August 15, had announced of sanctioning Rs 6 crore for the development of Tarakarama Stadium.
Till now, the Chief Minister’s assurance was not materialised. Speaking to The Hans India, District Athletic Association secretary I Chandrashekar Reddy has criticised the State government for showing negligence towards sports development in Tirupati. He blamed the district officials and political leaders for damaging the ground in the stadium by holding events other than sports.
He slammed officials concerned for not allocating funds for improving ground for athletics. District Judo Association representative C Kiran Kumar alleged that the SVU officials did not improve the sports facilities for the last 30 years despite submitting several representations to them.
By K Nethaji
