CHENNAI: Dumping of garbage, sewage and silt in every available empty pocket of the city has become a stinking issue for many city residents. While environmental activists and citizens’ groups have been toiling for years to curb this menace, lessons don’t seem to have been learned.
The city Corporation’s first and only hockey field on Canal Bank Road in Adyar is now submerged under heaps of silt dumped in the nearby Adyar river and soil from the Miyawaki forest, which was developed recently.
The residents of the area complain that the dumping has been happening for the past one and a half months, and there is no place to play.
“About a month ago, when the Water Resources Department (WRD) was desilting the Adyar river, some of it was dumped in the corner of the ground and we did not bother. But since then, every day, they have been dumping silt and some soil from the Miyawaki forest. Now, we have no space on the ground left and no prior intimation was given to us about this,” rues Naren, one of the players who used the ground. The facility was inaugurated in 2015 after several state- and district-level hockey players emphasised the need for it. The complex used to function as a multi-purpose sports facility with hockey as priority. It is also equipped with movable football goal posts.
When contacted, the concerned Corporation official said they are currently raising the level of the ground and renovating it. “After three months, the ground can be used to play hockey again,” he said.
However, local activists and players argue that prior information should have been given to them. “Accessing other hockey grounds in the city can prove expensive. Also, this is the only ground with gravel surface, others are turf. Due to incidents like this, a lot of them are losing interest in the sport,” said Krishna, another player.
Besides this, the field lacks maintenance. “The ground turns very slushy during the rains. It is only
possible to play football during that season. We complain every rainy season and nobody pays heed,” he said.
Moreover, due to the absence of a security guard, tipplers frequent the ground during night and leave empty, broken bottles on the ground. The residents have now requested the civic body to clean the ground.