Demand to restore sports centre in Berhampur gets shriller

A public delegation led by former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rama Chandra Panda, former chairman of Ganjam block Surath Pahan and advocate N Rajendra Kumar met the State’s Principal Secretary of Urban Development and Sports A Srinivasan at the Secretariat in Bhubaneswar on Saturday and requested him to reconsider the proposal of the State Government to shift the Women’s Weightlifting Training Centre and Sports Hostel from the Brahmapur Stadium to Bhubaneswar.

The delegation also requested the Secretary to acquire the residual Defence land from the Ministry of Defence for making the Brahmapur Stadium a full-fledged one with modern state-of-the art facilities to conduct national and international sports events.

Mention may be made that half of the earmarked land is yet to be handed over by the Ministry of Defence for the purpose of the stadium, as a result of which the long-awaited dream of the denizens and sports lovers of Brahmapur for a modern stadium still remains unfulfilled. In the context of the shifting of the women’s weightlifting centre and its hostel from Brahmapur, delegation leader Panda alleged that it is a clear conspiracy by the State Government and lack of effective leadership of local elected representatives which has resulted in further weakening of the stadium.

Meanwhile, a large number of sports lovers, youths, senior citizens and BJP youth leader Rama Patra have been sitting in a dharna before the RDC (Southern) Office since Thursday demanding that the Women’s Weightlifting Training Centre and its hostel be brought back to the Brahmapur Stadium. 

Source: The Pioneer