Concerned over the imminent encroachment of an open space at Dindli Housing Board Colony in Adityapur, local residents with support of local NGO Jan Kalyan Morcha have demanded a common sports utility centre at the vacant space.

Functionaries of the NGO on Saturday held a meeting with the local residents after carrying out a survey of the open space, which runs the risk of getting encroached.

The NGO functionary, who had carried along the blueprint of the Dindli Housing Colony, verified the area left as open space as per the blueprint of the housing colony.

"The Dindli housing colony has an open space measuring 210 ft by 320 ft on the eastern side. As land grabbers are set to encroach the vacant land and the housing board had in its plan earmarked the said land as open space, we have decided to write to the housing board authority to convert into an open sports facility," Om Prakash Presidentof the Morcha told The Telegraph Online.

Prakash, who is also a senior advocate, said that there is no alternative place for the children of the housing colony to play and the land in question is facing risk of being encroached by influential people.

He said as the Adityapur Municipal Corporation comes under the state urban development department, the organisation will write to them as well as the civic body.

There are about a dozen housing board colonies in Adityapur. However, in all the colonies other than the one in Dindli housing, open spaces have been encroached.

Land grabbers had till the recent past tried to encroach the land either by setting up cattle sheds or by dumping sand and other building materials, but the local residents drove such elements away, often risking their lives.