Vijayawada's IGMC Stadium Sports Facility Faces Neglect Amid Political Events
While the Amaravati capital city is being prepared to host the inaugural Republic Day celebrations after the government officially moved the event from its regular venue, the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) Stadium on MG Road in Vijayawada, the fate of the IGMC ground remains unchanged. This sports facility, which is currently the only major venue serving athletes and sports enthusiasts in the city, continues to be utilized for non-sporting activities, causing significant inconvenience to its regular users.
Disruption to Regular Users and Vendors
The sports ground, popular among walkers and sports enthusiasts, has expressed deep disappointment over the repeated diversion of the stadium for political and commercial events. The latest instance is the BJP's Ekatma Manav Darshan programme, based on the philosophy of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Upon completion of this political programme, the district administration has planned to conduct its maiden Republic Day celebrations on behalf of the NTR district administration at the IGMC Stadium, with preparations already underway.
Walkers and sports enthusiasts are not the only ones suffering due to the IGMC hosting political and non-sports programmes. Small-scale vendors who sell health drinks and snack items outside the stadium have also borne the brunt, as authorities did not permit these vendors to set up their makeshift stalls for the last two days. The health drinks and snack items sold by these vendors, who typically operate on the footpath outside the IGMC grounds, enjoy good patronage from walkers at the stadium.
Long-Term Neglect and Community Concerns
"It seems, over the past decade, the stadium, more than sports-related events, was used to host political, cultural and flood relief programmes," says Mungamuri Prasad, a long-time walker at the stadium. He notes that they are forced to abandon their regular walking routines periodically, as the stadium is frequently used for various political events.
When contacted about the dire situation at the IGMC Stadium, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) chairman, Animini Ravi Naidu, complained that the greed of the civic body has led to the current predicament. He explained that, despite existing norms prohibiting the use of the stadium for non-sports-related events, the civic body has leased it out to various private programmes to generate revenue.
SAAP's Efforts and Administrative Hurdles
Ravi Naidu stated that SAAP personally urged Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to shift state-level Republic Day celebrations from the IGMC Stadium and succeeded in this pursuit. However, they failed to prevent the civic body from leasing the play area fields inside the stadium for political meetings. He highlighted that the stadium, which is currently under the municipal administration department's ambit, acts as a major hurdle for SAAP in ensuring its proper use for sports activities.
The ongoing situation underscores a broader issue of prioritizing revenue and political events over community sports infrastructure, leaving athletes and enthusiasts in Vijayawada without a reliable facility.
