COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has once again permitted a commercial exhibition to be held at the Sasthri Ground in RS Puram, drawing sharp criticism from regular users who say the move deprives the city's youth of one of its last remaining central open playgrounds.
Located in Ward 72 of the West Zone, the Sasthri Ground, also referred to as the Old Burial Ground by locals, is widely regarded as the only centrally located open ground available for the general public and sports enthusiasts in Coimbatore.
The playground caters to a wide range of activities, including cricket, football, athletics, and other fitness training, and is used daily by school and college students, amateur athletes, and working professionals.
However, users allege that over the past few years, the civic body has increasingly prioritised revenue generation by renting out the ground for exhibitions, circuses, and other commercial events. This, they say, is being done despite the existence of the VOC Grounds, which have traditionally been earmarked for large public and commercial events.
The latest point of contention is the cotton clothes and handicrafts sale-cum-expo, Cottonfab 2026, which is being held on the ground from December 31 to February 28. With the exhibition occupying the space for over a month, sports enthusiasts say they are completely barred from accessing the playground during this period.
"We have repeatedly expressed our strong opposition to conducting commercial activities on this playground," said Aravinth N, an IT professional and a regular cricket player at the ground. "But the CCMC continues to choose money over the interests of sports persons like us. For more than a month now, we have nowhere to practise."
Apart from the loss of access, users have also raised serious concerns over hygiene and safety. According to residents, a hen recently died after falling into an open pit dug by the CCMC for releasing waste from mobile toilets installed on the ground. The decaying carcass has not been removed yet, resulting in a foul odour.
"There are no proper toilet facilities in the playground. As a result, the workers who have been assigned to look after the expo stalls have been bathing and defecating in the open ground, which is extremely unhygienic and disrespectful to a public sports facility," Aravinth added.
Sports enthusiasts also pointed out that the number of open playgrounds in Coimbatore has sharply declined over the years, even as the youth population has grown. "Earlier, there were more grounds and fewer people. Now it is the opposite, yet we are losing whatever little space we have," another regular user said.
In the past, users had successfully stopped the works by the CCMC to set up an integrated kitchen facility on the playground for the breakfast scheme of sanitary workers after raising complaints with officials and the local councillor.
Ward 72 councillor Karthik Selvaraj of DMK had reportedly assured them that no non-sports activities would be permitted on the ground.
Despite this assurance, the current commercial expo has been allowed to proceed.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said, "The Sasthri ground is not a designated ground for holding only sports activities. There is a demand for such space and many are requesting us to hold events in the ground. It's a corporation-owned ground and revenue generation factors must also be considered. Action will be taken regarding the event organisers and workers openly bathing and defecating on the ground. Also, I'll instruct the officials to remove the carcass and close the pit immediately."