Enter at your own risk: Wrestling arena leaves no room for other sports, activities

LUCKNOW: The wrestling arena of the Lucknow Mahotsava, which is located on the Hari Chand Inter College ground seems to be the best example of sporting apathy. And over the past few years, apart from hosting a couple of wrestling contests, this ground is practically unfit for carrying out any sporting activity, and is rather utilised as a parking space for vehicles, which visit the college when transforms itself into a wedding venue.
The wrestling arena, which is located in the centre of the ground, is an elevated structure, and due to its strange location, it has virtually turned the entire college ground into a no-sporting zone. Even college teachers complain that due to the awkward location of the wrestling arena, sports and sporting activities involving the students of the college has been affected to a large extent.
Amarjeet Singh, the sports teacher of the college complains, “The elevated wrestling arena has effectively hampered all the sporting activities of the college. As a result, we have no option, but to focus on indoor sports, in order to hone the sporting talent we have.” He further stated that a number of times the college authorities tried to move the concerned officials of the district administration, but it resulted in noting substantial for the college.
Bharat Singh, a resident of Sadar, and a regular visitor to the ground expressed anguish at the poor maintenance of the ground, and said, “It seems that the ground is suffering because of the wrestling arena. I am not against wrestling, but at the same time other sports and sporting activities of the college should not be affected by this.” He further added that if the wrestling arena is shifted towards the corner of the field, then the ground could be used for different sporting activities.
Meawhile, the Kushti-Dangal competition which would be organised under the Lucknow Mahotsava would also have participation from women folks. The competition scheduled for Saturday would be held at Hari Chand Inter College ground, Lucknow Cantonment from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm. According to Vikas Chandra Yadav, the secretary of district wrestling federation, Lucknow, the prize money would range from Rs 201 to Rs 21,000.