KOZHIKODE: District Sports Council says the coastal department has encroached the land it identified for a swimming pool for training purposes near South Beach. It says it has taken away half of the plot in the name of the beach beautification while a private party uses the rest for inter- state lorry parking. The council president K.J. Mathai said it got on a lease 1.55 acres in 2000 from the coastal department for building a pool of international standards with an estimate of '1.5 crore.
But soon the project got stalled after the coastal department filed a case in the court citing environmental issues. It could not be resumed so far. "We were supposed to start the project this year with the support of the Sports Association of India. But while inspecting the land for construction, a good portion of it was found in the coastal department's possession," he said.
"We have all the documents of the lease agreement with us. So we filed a complaint with the state sports department to urgently take action against the same." The council members say it will now require Rs 7 crore to complete the project. They expect the government support as the pool can help hundreds of talented swimmers in the district.
