CHENNAI: In Nanganallur, children and youngsters are excited about the soon to be opened roller skating rink in their neighbourhood.
The facility on 100 Feet Road near the Civil Aviation Colony is being developed on a 12,000 square foot open ground by the Alandur Municipality. It will be opened to the users in two weeks. Now, workers are fixing Kota stone tiles and giving finishing touches to the facility.
School students Ashwin Prasad and Sriram expressed their excitement about the upcoming rink to City Express. “We used to practice on the main roads despite the maddening traffic and safety concerns. Now, we will be getting a dedicated facility. This would go a long way in developing our roller skating skills, besides giving a fillip to the sport,” they said.
S Sugumaran, a young software professional, said the facility was a boon, especially to battle stress. “I believe that this sport can be a good stress buster.”
VR Kannan, a resident of Kannan Nagar in Madipakkam, said that the upcoming rink was the first-of-its-kind in Kanchipuram district.
“My children, like many others, practice in an open space between the Thillaiganga Nagar subway and GST Road, opposite to the Officers Training Academy in St Thomas Mount. We used to be concerned about the heavy traffic movement in these areas. Now, we are relieved.”
According to N Chandran, vice-chairman, Alandur Municipality, the facility is being set up at a cost of Rs 31 lakhs.
“State labour minister TM Anbarasan, who is also the local MLA, has given Rs 15 lakh from his constituency development fund and the rest has been funded by the municipality,” he said, adding that the rink could be used free of cost by all those who were interested in the sport.
Denying reports of delay from some quarters in the completion of the rink, Chandran said, “We completed a whole lot of things in a record short time, including the transfer of assets (overhead lines and cables) of the TNEB from the premises. The project is pretty much on schedule.”
B Hariprasad, secretary of the Nanganallur Roller Skaters Development Association, said that the State government and the local municipality had promptly acted on the association’s plea for setting up a rink.
“The rink is 325 feet long and 30 feet wide and it is the longest in the whole of Tamil Nadu. The facility will have two dressing rooms, toilets and an office room, making it complete in all respects,” he said adding that the skater body had appealed to the local body to hand over the facility to it for better management and maintenance.