The State Government has invested lakhs of rupees for the Gajapati indoor stadium to keep the people fit by doing physical exercises and also for playing games. It was inaugurated in 2018 by former MLA K Surya Rao, Gajapati district Collector Anupam Saha and the ZP president among others.
The indoor stadium has a table tennis and badminton court. However, there is allegation that the indoor stadium is limited only to a handful of people, who are using it as their personal property due to lack of alertness of the District Sports Department.
It’s also said the keys of the indoor stadium remain with those people. After they play the game, they donot allow others to use the stadium and force them to be out of the stadium and take the keys along with them after locking it.
This incident came to light when journalist Amodh Kumar Bardhan of the town went to play in the indoor stadium. No indoor stadium manager was available and no security guard deployed. The keys were with a person named as Shivaji who played badminton every day.
The denizens of the Parlakhemundi town have demanded that the stadium be properly managed with equal access to one and all.