Ambedkar Stadium cries for attention

Indian athletes’ performance at the Tokyo Olympics makes one think that with better training facilities, the country could have achieved a lot more medals.
An aerial view of Ambedkar stadium in Kochi| A Sanesh
An aerial view of Ambedkar stadium in Kochi| A Sanesh

KOCHI: The stadium, once a beehive of sports activities particularly football, is in a poor condition at the moment. Sports enthusiasts pin hopes on the state government’s latest proposal to develop it as a modern stadium, through PPP model

Indian athletes’ performance at the Tokyo Olympics makes one think that with better training facilities, the country could have achieved a lot more medals. The situation is no different in Kerala, which has produced several Olympians as the authorities are not able to maintain even the existing facilities properly. The condition of the Ambedkar Stadium is a case in point. Established in the late 1970s, the stadium was renovated in 2017 as a practice venue of the U-17 World Cup by developing artificial turf, but there has not been a proper upkeep since then.

Sports Minister V Abdurahiman, who visited the venue last week, said the state government plans to develop it as a modern stadium. “Sports Kerala Limited (SKL), a PSU exclusively for looking after the sports facilities across the state, will be launched this month. We are in the process of signing an agreement with various local bodies to build new facilities and develop the existing ones. We have already raised `5 crore for the hockey ground at the Maharaja’s College sports complex. We’re in talks with the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) to convert the Ambedkar Stadium into a modern facility. Once the director board of SKL comes into force, we will fast-track the process,” said Abdurahiman, who held a high-level meeting with different stakeholders. 

GCDA to extend full support
“We had several plans for the stadium, but could not execute them because of financial crunch. So when the sports minister made the proposal, we wholeheartedly offered our support. The project, the design of which is yet to be ready, will be implemented by the SKL with the support of GCDA,” the authority’s outgoing chairman V Saleem. The plan to develop the stadium as aPublic-Private-Partnership model  has not gone down well with some of the stakeholders.

“The plan to develop a public property with the support of private firms may sound interesting, but ordinary citizens will have limited access to the stadium under the new model. Many marginalised children are training on the ground. The government should ensure that development plans do not hinder their aspirations,” said a club official, who wishes not to be named.

High time to revive public places
Yesteryear footballers are ruing the lack of long-term initiatives to develop public places to nurture talents. “It’s good to know that the state government is finally taking the initiative to develop the Ambedkar Stadium. But ever since its opening, the stadium has suffered due to the shortsighted approach of the authorities,” said footballer C C Jacob, a member of the Kerala team which won the Santosh Trophy in 1973.

“The Customs department maintained the stadium for a while in the 1980s, but its upkeep has been poor mostly since then. Not just the Ambedkar Stadium, but the authorities have failed to maintain all public sports facilities properly. We’ve thus let down our future generations. We keep discussing about the poor performance of our national teams on the international stage, but we keep forgetting the basics,” said Jacob.

‘Combine with KSRTC project’
As the KSRTC is planning to build a sports arena as part of its commercial building project at the Ernakulam bus station, many are calling for integrating the project with the Ambedkar Stadium proposal. “It makes sense to integrate the stadium with the KSRTC’s project as they share a boundary. The authorities can make the most of the space by building underground parking facilities and recreation areas. The fund can be utilised effectively ,” said Better Kochi Response Group president S Gopakumar.

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