SRIKAKULAM: Inordinate delay in the renovation of Kodirammurthy Stadium in Srikakulam has irked the sports fraternity as well as aspirants of the armed forces and police forces in the district.
The renovation works have been progressing at a snail’s pace for the past 18 months, even after the TDP-led NDA coalition government came into power in 2024.
Delay in the release of pending bills, coupled with administrative hurdles, has become the core problem for this much-awaited project in Srikakulam district.
Kodi Rammurthy Stadium in Srikakulam town is one of the best stadiums in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh. It served as a basic platform for the first weightlifting Olympian Karanam Malleswari, World Weightlifting Champion Nelamsetti Laxmi, Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist Pujari Sailaja, and 25 other international players and athletes.
It showed the way for hundreds of national and state-level players from 1983 to 2016. Thousands of youths became police, Army, Navy, Air Force, CISF, CRPF, and other armed forces cadets after practising at this stadium.
Lakhs of people have been leading healthy lives by jogging and walking in the stadium.
After witnessing the plight of the historic stadium, the previous TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu sanctioned Rs 15 crore for its renovation under a 50-50 partnership with VUDA (Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority) and laid the foundation stone on May 4, 2016. Subsequently, Ananta Rao & Co. started the renovation work after demolishing the stadium in 2018.
Works worth Rs 7.5 crore, which was the AP government’s share, were completed. Meanwhile, VUDA became VMRDA. Later, Srikakulam was separated from VMRDA and constituted as the Srikakulam Urban Development Authority (SUDA). As a result, the modernisation works were stopped midway as VUDA authorities failed to release their share due to technical reasons.
The sports fraternity, youth, armed forces aspirants, and common people have been facing difficulties in sports, games, athletics, exercise, walking, and jogging in Srikakulam town due to the delay in the works. Therefore, the Youth Advancement, Tourism, and Culture (YAT&C) department issued GO Rt No. 202, sanctioning Rs 12 crore for the development and modernisation of Kodi Rammurthy Stadium during the previous YSRCP government regime. The renovation works were started in 2023. However, the works were stopped midway due to delays in the release of pending bills.
The sports fraternity and Srikakulam youth hoped that the TDP-led NDA coalition government would complete the stadium renovation. Though the contracting agency resumed the works after the coalition government came to power, the works were once again stopped due to delays in the release of pending bills. As a result, the renovation of Kodi Rammurthy Stadium continues to move at a snail’s pace.
Speaking to TNIE, K Bhiraginaidu, an armed forces aspirant and athlete from Srikakulam, said, “The renovation of Kodi Rammurthy Stadium has remained an unfulfilled dream for the past one decade. The TDP government demolished the stadium in 2016, citing the construction of a new stadium, but failed to complete it during its regime.
The YSRCP government also delayed the project for three years and resumed the works only before losing power. So, new sports talent is disappearing, and people are facing problems with physical fitness and armed forces jobs due to the lack of stadium facilities. I felt happy when the TDP-led NDA government resumed the works in 2024. However, the contracting agency again stopped the works.”