RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Feb.2: Historic Morhabadi ground, whose size kept on reducing with the construction of Birsa Stadium, Astroturf, Dada Dadi Park, Bapu Batika, permanent stage and Times square besides other developmental work, is now ready to shrink further.
The situation came after the incident of the shootout on January 27 in the ground and the beginning of politics over it.
A locality resident shared his feeling after municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar visited the ground and assured providing space to makeshift shop owners to run their business.
“After the incident of the shoot out the district administration asked over 250 makeshift shop owners to vacate the ground. But after they protested against the order and politics started taking it, the administration bowed down. It planned to specify some space for them. Once this happens, shop owners will have a permanent claim on it and this will reduce the size of ground permanently and an iconic ground will soon become a matter of the past,” the resident said.
“The ground used to be the biggest space for public function and political rallies in the heart of the city where leaders like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi besides others have visited. The place where more than 5 lakh people could assemble has become so small that hardly 30,000 people can assemble properly for any reason. Several small grounds have come under the big ground and now a business hub is being developed. This is not justified,” the resident added.
An official of the district administration admitted the fact, saying attempts started to deface the ground after Jharkhand carved out from Bihar and people with vested interest started seeing the scope of income from the ground.
“First a road was constructed passing through the ground when Babulal Marandi became first chief minister of the state. In the process, several trees in the ground were cut compelling several leaders to protest against it but once the road was constructed everything came to an end and its defacement started in the name of development. It is very difficult to save it now as the way politics starts in case of any action against the shop owners no popular government can dare to touch shop owners,” the official said.
EoM
