KOLLAM: Nearly four years on since Assembly Committee on Sports and Youth Affairs chairman T V Rajesh announced in November 2018 that a separate synthetic track and the multipurpose indoor stadium would be built close to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the district, there has been little follow-up action in this regard.
This means that Kollam still lacks a synthetic athletics track. The Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium, which had hosted several national sporting events, is a multipurpose sporting venue. But it is rotting away as a result of official apathy.
District Athletics Association president S Devarajan told The New Indian Express that synthetic tracks, the latest equipment and a modern sports stadium are the need of the hour. ''The Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium lacks modern facilities. The repeated assurances from authorities have remained mere assurances,'' he said, adding, budding talents are forced to leave the district for other places in search of better training facilities.
Though the work on the indoor stadium proposed to come up in the district commenced in February 2021, the authorities concerned told TNIE that it would take another nine months for the construction to get over. Interestingly, the powers do not make any bones about the fact that the district lacks the necessary infrastructure to stage national or international sports events.
Curiously, District Sports Council president X Enarst, who spoke to TNIE on the phone, blamed adverse weather conditions for the delay in the indoor stadium construction. "Kollam does not have the facilities to conduct national and international events. But the new indoor sports stadium will boost the sports culture of people in the district. However, the public will have to wait for another six to nine months for the new stadium," he said.
Sports enthusiasts, though, see things in a different light. According to them, the new stadium will not be able to address all the requirements. Former footballer Shanel, who runs a sports academy in the district, said that state-of-the-art sports facilities are the need of the hour for the district.
''There is an urgent need for contemporary sporting amenities. The elderly have developed an interest in sporting activities. Sports stadiums like Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium have for long remained neglected. It does not even have basic amenities like restrooms. The ground is overgrown by weeds and it could even be infested with snakes. As a result, people will migrate to indoor stadiums or private sports facilities in search of better facilities," he added.