Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy was forced to drop plans to turn a playground into a stadium in BTM Layout constituency, following outrage by residents. The Minister was supposed to conduct puja on Thursday to start work on the project, but said he called it off “since people do not want it”.
This comes close on the heels of residents of Indiranagar fighting a legal battle against turning a playground into an indoor stadium.
The playground in BTM Layout 2nd Stage has a walking track and tree line along the fence. The project was to provide a viewers’ gallery along the fence of the playground along with other sporting facilities, turning it into a small stadium, at a cost of ₹3.5 crore. However, residents were up in arms and complained that it would lead to felling of trees and reduced play area.
Sunil Sudhakaran, a resident, said they were opposed to the idea of converting the playground into a stadium as it was unnecessary and would lead to felling of at least 50 trees. “Building a viewers’ gallery would only make it a haunt for anti-social elements during night time, risking the security of an already crime-prone area,” said another resident. The local RWA also opposed the project.
“We were not planning to build an indoor stadium, but only a gallery with steps along the fence and provide some additional sporting facilities. We did a similar project in Koramangala. Since the residents were opposing the project, I have directed the BBMP to drop it and use the funds for other projects,” Mr. Reddy said.
