Athletes and residents of Jayanagar staged an angry protest at the 3rd Block Stadium on Saturday to oppose the move by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to use a part of the ground for Cricket pitches.
KSCA is developing six cricket pitches on the ground. The athletes fear that field disciplines like discus throw, javelin throw will be affected because of this.
In an interview to a newspaper, Karnataka Athletics Association secretary Satyanarayana said “This ground has produced many athletes. Many schools in the area use it for their sports meets. We need at least 90 metres for events like javelin and discus. This won’t be possible with the cricket nets here”
Adding to this, Olympian Arjun Devaiah said, “We’re not against cricket but other sports must not suffer. If they needed it for cricket, they could have rented school grounds. There aren’t many grounds for field events.”
Rejecting the concerns raised, Local councillor N. Nagaraju said “The KSCA is only going to develop the pitches and then return them to the BBMP. Free summer camps will be held here. It is part of the redevelopment of the stadium, which will make it multipurpose. I have been inviting those who are against this to have a meeting but they have not responded”
