The iconic Aambagan ground, plagued by encroachments, will be renamed Netaji Subhas Maidan-Aambagan to commemorate the birth anniversary of the freedom fighter on Wednesday.
The nine-decade old ground, which is spread over four acres in Sakchi, is home to a bust of Netaji installed by former Jamshedpur West MLA, the late M.P. Singh of the BJP, in December 2003.
State food and civil supplies minister Saryu Roy, who is now Jamshedpur West MLA, along with members of the socio-cultural outfit, Subhas Sanskriti Parishad, have taken the responsibility of re-christening the ground which regularly hosts fairs and political rallies apart from the Jamshedpur Sarbojanin Durga Puja.
Roy promised to rid the ground of encroachments before embarking on beautification plans of the ground which has a mosque at its southern end and the state-run school, Rajasthan Vidya Mandir, at its north.
“We are aware that there are encroachments on all sides (of the ground). Also, motor garages operate in the area and there is illegal parking of vehicles. All these make it difficult for the common man to use Ambagan,” the MLA said, adding that a large number of dustbins placed by Jusco on the directive of Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee remains largely unused.
Roy said he would take up the issue with the district administration and ensure the ground was maintained regularly. “It will be a great way to pay homage to legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, who had visited Jamshedpur on several occasions and was also president of Tata Steel’s trade union,” he said.
At a meeting held last week, the Parishad had constituted a steering committee to monitor the maintenance of the ground after it was renamed.
Unused garbage bins at the Aambagan ground. Picture by Bhola Prasad
“Merely renaming the ground in the name of the great freedom fighter would not serve the purpose. The local MLA has plans to install lights, and in due course, install facilities for conducting laser shows on the life of Netaji and set up a museum on Netaji,” said steering committee chairman Tapas Mitra, who is a senior advocate at Jamshedpur court.
He said they would like to invite like-minded organisations that were willing to contribute funds to join them. “All construction work will be done by generating public funds,” he added.
Parishad founder Shekhar Dey said that they would also approach the state government for removing the encroachments.
“We plan to approach the state government soon with a proposal for further beautification of the ground which is used by a large number of people,” said Dey, who is a director of the Sreeleathers Group.
As for cleaning the ground regularly, Mitra said they would do so with the help of Jusco.
Among the organisations that have already promised support to Subhas Sankskriti Parishad are The Bengal Club, Milanee, Amal Sangha and Banga Bandhu.
Jusco, it is understood, did have beautification plans for the ground, but had to hold back following a complaint lodged in court.
“A section of the local residents lodged a case in Jharkhand High Court against erecting a boundary wall on the ground. Since the matter is pending we cannot initiate any work at the moment,” said Jusco spokesperson Rajesh Rajan.
