Rolling on to danger
The lack of proper facilities to practice roller skating is forcing many children and their coaches to illegally take to the busy Thiruvallam-Kovalam and Chakka-Shanghumugham roads, thereby putting their lives at risk.The trend, wherein children speed away on skates even during peak hours, has turned a nightmare for many despite the High Court order banning kids from taking to roads unless given authorised permission. In Thiruvananthapuram, the only permitted place for this is the stretch at CRPF Camp in Pallippuram.
“Two years ago I used to take my child for practising skating on the Thiruvallam-Kovalam stretch from 5.30 am to 7 am. Once when he met with a bike accident, I, along with a few other families, decided to stop the practice. Now, we only use the Pallipuram stretch. But, there are many kids, from age group 3 and above, who still practice on the highway despite knowing the dangers,” said Manoj Kumar, a parent. Besides the Thiruvallam - Kovalam roads, many clubs also use the Poojappura, Kowdiar, Attukal, and Central Stadium roads. And, they blame the lack of a skating rink for the situation.
“The lack of a skating rink in the state has forced parents and coaches to train their kids on roads. A skating surface, ideally, should be a banked track rather than a flat surface. Also, while at least a 200-metre track is required for practice, the skaters in the city get to train on just 50-metre tracks, that too on cement surfaces or roads,” said B V N Reddy, senior vice-president, Kerala Roller Skating Association.
Many children depend on basketball courts at the Central Stadium too. Reddy added that the construction of a rink as per global standards require around 2 acres of land and is very expensive. He also urged the Kerala Sports Council to give priority to roller skating. “Skating has now been included in Asian Championship and by next year it will be included in Olympics too. The young talents will never get to score if they are not given proper training and facilities,” said Reddy.
According to a source, some associations engage in the practice of using main roads as they have a tie-up with the traffic police. However, the police deny any such practice. “The kids are seen practising only on closed roads. They are not allowed to practice on highways. We have not got any such complaints,” said a police officer.