‘Black day for us': Indiranagar residents cry foul over groundbreaking ceremony of new stadium at Victory Ground
The Karnataka government on Thursday went ahead with the ground-breaking ceremony for an enclosed stadium in Bengaluru's Indiranagar, replacing a basketball court, the lone playground in the area, amid opposition from residents who termed it a 'black day'.
The project by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at the Victory Ground has sparked fear among the residents of Indiranagar as they feel the new enclosed space would restrict accessibility to a huge section of people, particularly children from the lower-income group.
'It was a Black Day for us, residents of Inagar, we were restrained by the Police from entering the only open playground of our area to witness a public event of encroaching our playground on a CA site using public money!! What a joke of democracy & blatant usurping of public land,' 'i change Indiranagar', a federation of resident welfare associations in Indiranagar, posted on X.
The Indiranagar Basketball Club (IBBC), a private club, currently uses the ground for basketball coaching.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Karnataka Chief Minister's Political Secretary and MLC K Govindaraj, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayanand, and BBMP Zonal Commissioner (East) Snehal R. Govindaraj, who had first announced the government's interest to construct a stadium on the Victory Ground, is also the president of Karnataka State Basketball Association and the president of Karnataka Olympics Association.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) from the BBMP has sparked concerns that the project would privatise a public space. The basketball ground at Victory Grounds in 1st Stage Indiranagar is expected to become a tensile-roofed stadium at an estimated cost of Rs 6.5 crore.
Swarna Venkataraman, core member of the residents federation, told The Indian Express, 'The police restrained us from our only open playground, which we as residents maintained over the years. We were barred from accessing a public playground, which was unheard of. Converting this to a private stadium will only cut off access to the public, especially children from low-income areas who use this playground for sports and other recreational purposes.'
The residents also called out BBMP zonal commissioner Snehal for attending the groundbreaking ceremony, days after she allegedly feigned ignorance over the project during a meeting with the residents.
A similar proposal in 2017 to convert the basketball court into an indoor stadium was halted following opposition from residents and a stay order from the Karnataka High Court. The State Human Rights Commission had also condemned the plan, criticising attempts to restrict public access to open spaces. The Karnataka High Court has stayed the tender process for the 2107 project, noting that the question of whether the construction contributes to the improvement or a more beneficial use of the playground requires further consideration.
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