THOOTHUKUDI
Many walkers, who go to the District Sports Stadium in Thoothukudi, are fuming over the exorbitant monthly user charge of ₹250 per person introduced by Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).
This was shocking as people of all walks of life were walking in the mornings to stay healthy nowadays, S. Muthu Ganesh, a regular walker, said on Monday.
Several aged persons, who could not do any hard physical exercise, could only walk. They could keep themselves fit by taking a walk for about 20-30 minutes every day. They would find the high user charge unreasonable, P. Manickavel, a diabetic, said.
A. Sankar, president, Indian Consumer Rights Foundation, Thoothukudi, told The Hindu that collection of exorbitant user charge would discourage walkers from taking a morning walk in a good atmosphere.
The SDAT had hitherto been charging a fee only from sports competition organisers willing to use the stadium. It was not safe to walk on roads, he said, and cited the death of two walkers at Kadayanallur recently.
Meanwhile, MDMK cadre, led by deputy secretary of the district party unit Veerapandi Chellasamy, staged a demonstration at the Collectorate here, urging the district administration to immediately cancel the user charge.
They said the government was targeting people who wanted to stay healthy.
Sources in the SDAT said there were lots of complaints from walkers against the move, and their grievances were taken to the attention of the district administration.