Waltair Rly Division master plan to upgrade sports facilities

• Under the plan, cricket ground was extended to 72 m radius and renovated with subsurface ground drainage, modern grassing and underground sprinkler facilities
• All the equipment and items were prepared as per BCCI standards and the stadium is now ready to host first-class cricket including Ranji matches

Visakhapatnam: The Waltair Railway Division with a tagline ‘Think Sports, Think Railways and Think Waltair,’ drew a master plan to upgrade all sports facilities. S N Agarawal, member staff, Railway Board and president, Railway Sports Promotion Board, commissioned the facilities here on Saturday in the presence of DRM, Waltair, Mukul Saran Mathur, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, ECoR, P C Nayak, Railway Sports Promotion Board Executive Director Rekha Yadav, ADRMs K Dhanunjaya Rao and P Ramachandra Rao.

As per the plan, courts for all the net games including lawn tennis, ball badminton, volleyball and basketball were relocated creating additional courts for every sport.

The cricket ground was extended to 72 m radius and was renovated with subsurface ground drainage, modern grassing and underground sprinkler facilities.

The pitch and outfield were developed with the help of Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association and Andhra Cricket Association technical personnel.

The pavilions were modified with all the modern facilities of WiFi, AC Seating, Masseur tables and see-through glass for the home team, foreign team, and VIP lounges.

An air-conditioned sports dormitory, weightlifting hall, and gym has also been developed in the cricket stadium.

All the equipment and items were prepared as per BCCI standards and were now getting ready to host first-class cricket including Ranji matches. The stadium was renamed as Waltair Railway Stadium.

Senior cricket players including Ravi Sastri, Sanjay Bangar, and MSK Prasad visited the stadium at its various stages of development and suggesting improvements.

The existing 50 m Olympic size swimming pool was also renovated and became the most favourite swimming pool of the Port City. The old badminton court was also converted into a boxing hall with modern facilities considering the popularity of the sport.

The Railway Indoor Sports Enclave (RISE) is equipped with wooden flooring consists of 10 Badminton courts, 6 Table Tennis courts and also space for Marshal arts training.

All together with swimming pool, this facility has become a revenue generator to the tune of Rs 60 lakhs per year and around 50 per cent of the revenue is used for upkeep and maintenance.

A beautiful park along with walking track near the stadium is also developed for the use of children, walkers, and senior citizens. All the works were completed in a record time of eight months at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore.

The erstwhile exhibition ground is now being converted into a full-fledged football stadium with an athletic track around it. The work will be completed within the next three months.