KOLLAM:Newly appointed Director General of Sports Authority of India (SAI) Injeti Srinivas has told Express that the SAI has plans to take over the new hockey stadium at Asramam here, the lone synthetic hockey ground in the state. His remark has come at a time when the city police and the district administration were in a muddle regarding who will be in-charge of maintaining the stadium. The confusion owes to the laxity of the government in clearing the air regarding who will be given responsibility of maintaining the stadium.
The government first chose the district administration to maintain the stadium.Later the decision was changed and it was decided to give the charge to the city police. Though a decision in this regard was announced at a press meet in the state capital a couple of months ago, an administrative sanction in this regard is yet to be notified, according to sources.The government had instructed the city police to entrust the upkeep of the stadium with the Kerala Armed Police 3rd Battalion. But as papers in this regard are yet to arrive at the City Police Commissioner’s Office, at present, the police officials are simply overlooking the security aspects of the stadium. As red tapism looms large, sports enthusiasts are concerned about the upkeep of the stadium and the turf. Considering these aspects, the SAI Director General’s remark is something to cheer about.
According to coach of state men’s hockey team Jeffrey Rajesh, if the stadium is taken over by SAI, then it’s a news to rejoice. But he also cautioned that if they had plans of taking over, then a memorandum of understanding (MoU) should be signed with Kerala Hockey.
“Though it is a welcome ffort, my opinion is that an MoU should be signed between SAI and Kerala Hockey. This will ensure the free conduct of regional camps, trial or selection camps and regional tournaments. We can also conduct state-level championships on the ground. A meeting in this regard will have to be carried out with the Kerala Hockey before taking over the stadium,” Jeffrey Rajesh said.
Meanwhile, a member of the men’s hockey team, who attended the selection and training camp at the new hockey stadium a few days ago, on condition of anonymity told Express that the stitches of the turf were loosened and if not knitted properly, the turf would be severely damaged. He also alleged that the recycling plant functioning at the stadium would do more harm than good to the turf.