Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 18: The popular maxim, ‘Everybody wants to build, but nobody wants to maintain’, came true in case of the Kalinga Stadium here. Apathy by the students and teachers of SAI International School during a sports meet they conducted at the stadium, Thursday led to the destruction of the synthetic athletics tracks. More than 60 metres of the track have suffered irreparable damages leaving the sportspersons severely affected.
The track for jump events – long, triple and high jump have been severely damaged during the programme conducted Thursday. Sources stated that the stadium was hired out to the school for its sports event only. But the students and teachers also incorporated a cultural programme which led to the severe damage of the tracks. Friday, when one visited the place, one could clearly see the pot holes in the track. At some places the upper layer had also come off – clear indications that chairs and other heavy materials had been dragged on the tracks.
The stadium is hired out to various government, private and sports bodies for sports competitions. The government bodies and sports bodies are charged `1,000 per day, while the private bodies have to pay `5,000. But rules and regulations clearly state that only sports activities will be allowed, not cultural functions.
“According to the agreement, SAI International was to conduct its annual sports meet here. But they also conducted a cultural show along with the sports meet, which is against protocol. There were around 1,000 children and their guardians assembled in the meet. Unknowingly they put chairs on the jumping tracks near the dice and sat on them leading to the damage of the tracks,” informed stadium-in-charge Barija Ranjan Sahoo.
“We have taken the matter seriously and I have sent a report regarding the incident to the state sports department. Compensation has been sought from the school. Either they will repair the track or they have to bear the total cost of re-laying it,” Barija added.
Though Barija did not reveal the exact amount of compensation, sources said that the sports department has asked for rupees five crore from the school.
The school authorities however, did not respond to the efforts made to contact them for their versions. Some of them when contacted on their cell phones, denied being an employee of the school. When contacted over the school landline a person informed that nobody was available for comment.
The cost of repairing the track laid in 1998 at a cost of rupees three crore, is expected to be huge. Athletes are naturally crestfallen as their training has been hampered. However state sports director Ananta Kishore Jena has assured that the track will be repaired very soon. “We will see to it that sportspersons do not suffer,” said Jena. “So we will begin our repair work very quickly.”
