Bengaluru: Litter piles, funds fall as apathy hits stadium

Piled-up garbage, plastic bottles, used diapers, and stray dogs feeding on leftover food. The sights from Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium do not prepare you for what it really is – a multipurpose stadium, the second biggest in Bengaluru. The poorly maintained basketball court on its premises is a damning pointer to the rot.

Shashi Kumar, a basketball coach who has been training students for 13 years, said a fund crunch is impeding development works, as there is no elected council for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). “It was better maintained when we had a civic body. Now, students find it hard to practise here, as the surface is uneven. Earlier, the mud surface served the purpose but due to various reasons, it was removed and replaced with cement,” he said. The coach said the Jayanagar MLA, Soumya Reddy, has been helpful and is trying to allot funds.

Shreesha Nagaraj, a student and aspiring athlete, agreed with Kumar on the practice facilities. “As athletes, we need proper tracks for running. Since the synthetic track is not complete, there is more action on the basketball court. We cannot run on cement floors; it hurts our knees and ruins our practice. We cannot go elsewhere. With proper infrastructure, this stadium can produce many more athletes,” she said.

Workers unpaid, toilets unclean

Kumar said garbage is not being collected regularly. The trainers have been pooling money to pay the guard and pourakarmikas who clean the premises weekly, twice or thrice.

Sonal Agarwal who accompanies her daughter for her skating classes called for intervention to prevent the stadium from becoming a garbage dumping point. “Even the toilets are unclean and lack a regular supply of water and handwash. The children also suffer due to the stench,” she said.

There are concerns over the stadium being rented out for cultural events like school annual day programmes, hindering practice sessions.

When contacted, Soumya Reddy said she is aware of the condition of the stadium. “As there is no elected council in the BBMP for the past two years, there is no proper maintenance of the premises. We are planning a protest against the government which has failed in addressing problems of the common man,” she said. The MLA said she has been in touch with the local BBMP officials but they have not responded properly.

Mahantesh Bukanapura, Executive Engineer, South Division, BBMP, told DH that the authorities are aware of the problem and an action plan to resolve issues regarding the stadium is being designed. “The stadium is being used for multiple activities. People litter the premises though we have placed garbage bags at all points. They should also try to keep the place clean,” he added.