An elderly woman in Kerala has donated two acres of land worth over Rs. 2 crore for construction of a stadium at Malappuram district in North Kerala.
Karthiayani Amma aged around 80 made the generous donation which also highlights the sports craze of Malappuram district which had received international attention during the last FIFA world cup.
Amma only had one condition for making the donation - name the stadium after her husband Appuni Nair.
Nair, a native of Chaliyar near Nilambur town in Malappuram, was owning around 80 cents prime land at Chaliyar. Children of the region had been using it as playground for last many generations with Nair's consent.
After Nair's death in April 2021 the family decided to sell the prime property. This triggered resentment among the people of the locality as there was no other play ground in the locality.
Amma was moved by the plight of the local people as her husband had given consent to the local people to use the 80 cents land as playground. Hence she assured that she would donate another ideal land in the locality for constructing a stadium. All her children also backed the desire.
Chaliyar panchayat president P Manoharan told DH that the panchayat had identified two acre land in the locality and suggested it to the Karthiayani Amma. She purchased it and donated it to the panchayat. The title deed was formally handed over to the local MLA P K Basheer the other day. Construction of the stadium will begin soon, he said.
Amma's generosity is being widely appreciated by the people especially since people are often reluctant to spare even an inch of land free of cost for public purposes. It is also considered as one of the most price worthy donations to sports by an individual. Local sports clubs celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets.
Published 21 August 2023, 05:38 IST