The Hindu

Mangalore, May 3: The Mangalore South Block Youth Congress Committee has urged the State Government to preserve the playground at Shantinagar in Jeppu area of the city. A press release from T K Sudhir, president of the committee, here on Tuesday said the ground had a history of nearly 100 years. The district administration is planning to hand over this ground to the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd (MESCOM).

He said the move of the administration was not in favour of public interest and added that there was no playground between Kankanady and Nandigudde and Attavar and Bolar areas in the city. People of the area use the Shantinagar ground for sports and other activities.

This ground was also used by various organisations to conduct district and taluk-level cricket tournaments on Sundays. The ground had been used as a venue for various district-level volleyball, throw ball and kabaddi events, he said and added that many educational institutions in the area used the ground to host their annual day and other cultural functions.

The proposal of the district administration to hand over the land to the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. without bringing it to the notice of people was an unfortunate development, he said.

Requesting the Government to take all these factors into consideration, Sudhir urged the Government to preserve the ground for public use. Sudhir asked the district administration and the State Government to scout for alternative land in the area and provide it to MESCOM.