Madikeri: Kodagu district is acclaimed for giving many sports persons to the country. Sports persons like Ashwini Nachappa, A.B. Subbaiah, Len Ayyappa, M.P. Ganesh, Arjun Devaiah have shined at the national and international level. State Government, in an effort to encourage budding sports perons, constructed the General Thimayya Stadium in the town. Unfortunately, the Stadium, instead of being a boon for the athletes, has become a bane. Thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the District Administration.

The Stadium houses a squash court, tennis courts, swimming pool, football ground and a skating rink. The list sounds appealing and alluring but remains almost silent and owning to unscientific constructions which are alleged to have been executed without seeking advice from sports experts. Swimming pool, which was constructed spending lakhs of rupees, is idle for last eight months and officials concerned blaming the defunct borewell.

Lakhs of rupees is allegedly drawn every year on the pretext of carrying out repair works at the Indoor Stadium with no semblance of repair anywhere. Athletes too blame the improper construction of the Indoor Stadium citing plenty of technical faults. Lack of drinking water and good toilets add further to the woes. Absence of change rooms and lockers always inconvenience the sports persons.

The Indoor Stadium is said to be so bad, water seeps through the ceiling. Absence of a generator is another problem, grieve the sports persons. They allege that allowing parking of vehicles had totally damaged the ground. Stadium built at a cost of several crores of rupees was constructed at the instance of MLA M.P. Appachu Ranjan, who was earlier the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. The vision was good but poor construction and up-keep has spoilt the prestigious Stadium, it is said.

MLC conducts inspection

Heeding to several complaints, MLC S. Veena Achaiah visited the Stadium recently and inspected the facilities and held discussions with sports persons.

Speaking to the media, Veena Achaiah regretted that the inadequacies at the Stadium could have been averted by consultation with experts during construction. She assured to discuss the issue with the Government and raise the matter at the Legislative Council to find a permanent solution for the problems.