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‘Sports hub’ tag for AP remains on paper as proposed projects languish

State is yet to identify suitable land for the project.

Visakhapatnam: The state government’s plans to make Vizag a hub of sports in AP to be able to better organise national and international sporting events in the future is moving at snail’s pace. Even a year after the proposal to set up water sports indoor stadiums and other projects, not a single such infrastructural facility has taken shape so far. The delay in identification of suitable land for the projects and a lukewarm response from private firms for partnership has stalled progress.

The Sports Authority of AP’s much-awaited plan to set up regional sports schools in Vizag district has been delayed. A regional sports school was supposed to come up at Sabbavaram, but the district administration has decided to locate it at Anakapalle instead, and now, the authorities have sanctioned around 26 acres of land at Araku Valley mandal for the school. Its cost has escalated to '50 crore, but the government has not sanctioned any funds yet.

District Collector N. Yuvaraj said that a state-of-the-art stadium, similar to the one in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, ought to come up in Vizag for hosting major sporting events. The Vishakhapatnam Urban Development Authority's land at Gandigundem area in Vizag has been identified as the right location for the stadium.

The Infrastructure Corporation of AP (INCA) would float the bids for it, he added. Sources said that the district administration had handed over land for the setting up of the Archery Academy at Araku, a high altitude sports centre at Lam-basingi in Vizag Agency, a disability sports institute in the Gambheeram area of Vizag, a sports city in the steel plant locality, a green field stadium at Kommadi in Vizag city and a few others. However, the process of Detailed Project Reports for the sports projects have not begun and there is no guarantee on the release of funds for the projects.

Vizag was Andhra's biggest city and claimed to be its ‘sports city’ too, yet it could not yet boast of adequate sports infrastructure because successive governments had meted out stepmotherly treatment in this area, with none of the proposed sports projects having been completed so far, said North Andhra Graduate Constituency MLC M.V.S. Sarma.

Sources added that the proposed water sports academy near Rushi-konda Beach, and the golf tourism and horse racing course in Vizag remained proposals as there was no concrete step being taken to speed them up.

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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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