Hold your horses, says K. Chandrasekhar Rao

Sprawled over 127 acres, the Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) has been an integral part of the city since the late 18th century. Originally at Moula Ali, it was shifted to Malakpet as the then Nizam, Mahboob Ali Khan, wanted the race course to be near his place. And this time around, it’s a probable ruler who wants to shift it to the outskirts of the city with the idea of setting up educational institutes on the area.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, during a recent television interview, had spoken of his developmental plans for Hyderabad in which he had envisaged the race course, which according to him is used for gambling purposes, to be shifted to the outskirts of the city.

While the decision to move the race course depends on whether the party comes to power, the Hyderabad Race Club committee has a few questions for the leader.

Stating that the land was privately held and if the TRS chief wanted to build educational institutes on it he would have to buy it first, R. Surender Reddy, the chairman of HRC says, to begin with, it’s not government property. It is a private property that had been bought from the late Nizam. Even if we thought of shifting, KCR would have to show us the compensations he was ready to offer.

K. Bhupal Reddy, the steward of HRC, says that it would entail many practical problems.

KCR would have to arrange for 150-200 acre of land in a place that is accessible by the general public. Where is this land? Moreover, to rebuild a race course with all the infrastructure, would require about rupees 500-600 crore. Is the TRS chief ready to compensate for that huge amount? he asks, adding, If all of this is just political propaganda, KCR needs to know that there are a lot of practical problems associated with it. It will take over three years to build another race course and let’s not forget that the main beneficiary from it is the government, with the amount of taxes paid to it.

Rubbishing the TRS chief’s claims that it was a base for gambling, Surender Reddy says, He is under the wrong impression that the race course encourages gambling. A judgement from the Supreme Court upholds the fact that it is a sport and a game of skill.

Even the Bengaluru race club was proposed to be shifted to the outskirts of the city but there has been a stay order on it and it’s still functioning from the same place. The Hyderabad Race Club is a landmark in the city and a new race course will not strike a chord with the people, says Aditya Babu, Tollywood film producer and actor who is also a member of the race club.