The piecemeal upgrade works of the Brahmapur Stadium without technical vision and a master plan will bring no tangible improvement of the sports infrastructure, fear many concerned citizens and sports lovers here. The stadium was constructed in 1986 and dedicated to public in 1989.
It may be mentioned here that Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) secretary Asirbad Behera in a letter to the Secretary to the RDC (Southern Division ) had agreed to spare the services of two curators of Barbati Stadium Pankaj Kumar Pattntaik and Sutu Ghosh to assist former president of DCA Ramesh Chandra Patra for rendering technical assistance in ground preparation work of the stadium and advised to depute both the grounds men of the Brahmapur stadium to Barbati stadium for a month’s training to develop their skill in the field of killing and weeding out grass, chemical treatment, ploughing, screening of the existing soil, addition of red soil and sandy loamy soil. But it only remained confined to pen and paper.
The Sports department had allotted Rs 20 lakh in favour of the EE (R&D) for change of soil and filling up of good quality earth suitable for play field in the stadium. But the work was postponed as per the orders of the ADM, Ganjam on the ground of an Army recruitment rally.
The Director Sports requested the Collector, Ganjam to immediately complete the entire upgradation work of the stadium by the end of 2012-13 financial year instead of allowing funds to lapse.
The relevant records show that the EE (R&B Divn) requested the Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Services to accord permission to place the allocated amount of Rs 20 lakh for renovation of playground at the disposal of MD, Odisha Agro Industries Corporation (OAIC), on whose recommendation the sum was approved. Accordingly, the renovation work started under the supervision of OAIC in February last.
Multiple directions with multiple bosses with heap of paper correspondences created serious impediments in the continuous and systematic growth of the stadium. In spite of the repeated suggestions and letters issued by the Ganjam District Cricket Association (GDCA) to the Principal Secretary, Sports, for upgradation of stadium work, the establishment of water storage sump with a storage capacity of 4 lakh gallons is yet to see the light.
The then Principal Secretary, Sports, I Srinivas, had allotted Rs 30 lakh at the disposal of Chief Engineer, PH (Urban) for improvement of sports infrastructure, including construction of a water sump with a capacity of 4 gallons of water (UGR-underground reservoir) with sprinkler system for the playground against the estimated cost of Rs 36,05,781 which the EE, PH Division had sought the approval.
As per information, even after incurring more than Rs 60 lakh on upgradation and development, the stadium is still witness any tangible growth as there is no forward and proper planning.
The road around the stadium is narrow, besides the encroachments in and around it are yet to be removed. There is absolutely no planning to release drain water that gets stagnated inside the stadium as the drain is not sloped towards northern side of the road which is having BMC’s deep drain. As a result, the rain water is heavily spilling over the playground as there is no peripheral drainage system around the playground with an outlet to drain out the stagnated water.
Though these problems have been communicated by GDCA president Ramesh Patra in May last, no tangible action has yet been taken by the Government. There are no harvesting pits at strategic points to conserve and raise the groundwater in order to maintain the water source for the deep bore well. A dedicated water pipe line from PH Department to augment water supply to the underground water reservoir is not available. The BMC is yet to take steps to remove the unauthorized parking and eateries near the entrance of the stadium, while there is no dog catcher squad to remove stray dogs.
These apart, the lawns and gardens in the outer galleries are yet to be developed, while absence of curators, grounds man, sweepers and security personnel has impeded its development.
local citizens say that the elected representatives are responsible for slow progress in the stadium work. Former Deputy Speaker and BJP Kissan Morcha national vice president Rama Chandra Panda demanded completion of the entire upgradation work at one go within a stipulated time frame.