A playground which was built by the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) at the cost of Rs 1.5 crore at Bogda in Mormugao taluka has now become a safe house for miscreants. The playground’s sorry state is crying for immediate attention from the authorities.
The BJP government has been proactive in developing public utility infrastructure, be it bridges, roads, airports, building complexes and so on. Unfortunately, once the infrastructure is built, very little consideration is given to its maintenance and keeping it operational for the public. The best example of such neglected infrastructure is the SAG playground at Bogda, Headland Sada.
This playground costing Rs1.5 crore was built some years ago when Ramesh Tawadkar was the sports minister of Goa. This playground has waiting rooms, toilets and urinals, a changing room facility, etc for sportspersons. There is a walking track and a volleyball court too inside the sports facility.
Unfortunately, this ground is not used by sportspersons and is predominantly the haunt of antisocial elements that indulge in drunken access and other inappropriate behaviour.
The condition of this playground is deplorable to the point that there is no illumination, making the facility inaccessible to sportspersons at night. There is overgrown vegetation which needs to be cleared; the urinals, taps and toilets are soiled and broken; and there is a plenitude of empty liquor bottles on the premises, which is a testament to the place being visited by unruly hooligans.
Xencor Polgi, a social activist, stated that the Sports Department needs to take cognisance of this issue and should make the maintenance and proper usage of this sports facility a priority. There should be an emphasis on encouraging the sports talent of Goa and not allowing these facilities to go down the drain, he added.
It may be recalled that in mid-May this year Sports Minister Govind Gaude inspected all the sports facilities, complexes and playgrounds from the Dabolim-Vasco area, and assured their development with added perks so that sports talent would receive encouragement. But the ground reality is that the playground at Bogda has remained woefully neglected.