COIMBATORE: The Mettupalayam municipal administration has been urged to allow students of the Municipal Girls Higher Secondary School to use its vacant land for sports activities.
Parents made this demand citing the lack of adequate space for sports and games on the school compound.
The school, which is on approximately 40 cents of land, has around 1,150 female students, a parent told TNIE requesting anonymity.
"Students used the four cents of land left on the school campus to play simple games like kho-hho, shot put, and throw ball during the physical education period. Now, they can no longer play these simple games as a building for a lab and new classrooms are being built on this land. This has affected their sports activities," he said.
He also urged the municipal administration to allow students to play on its vacant land.
S Basha, social activist in Mettupalayam, told TNIE the school administration has to depend on private colleges for students' practice ahead of sports meets.
"A 73-cent unused vacant land of Mettupalayam municipality at Kannappa Nagar is less than 100 metres from the school. A compound wall has already been built around this land.
If the administration allows, the students can use this space for sports activities and prepare for sport meets during the physical education period. Just like education, sports are important," he pointed out.
The municipal administration had denied permission though a petition was submitted by the school authorities and parents last year, he added.
He further suggested the municipality could allow the students to use the vacant land, which has not been used for several years, until further construction work begins.
Commissioner R Amudha told TNIE the site has been allocated for park construction and cannot be used for any other purpose as per a court directive.