The authorities in New Town have decided to start football, cricket and karate training camps in some of the parks and playgrounds managed by them.
The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) is the custodian of all parks and playgrounds located in Action Areas I, II and III.
According to a notification, NKDA has decided to appoint coaches and run coaching camps exclusively by them. The notification also says that such training camps have to be run by their empanelled coaches only.
The move, however, has irked a section of residents and block associations as in several blocks such training camps are already being organised by the associations and the block committees.
A senior NKDA official said that the panel of coaches will be prepared by the New Town Business Club and only “coaches or sporting institutes empaneled by the New Town Business Club” will be allowed to run training camps.
The running of private paid coaching camps by block associations that were not paying anything to NKDA despite using the parks as well as their infrastructure had irked the authority after which it issued a directive that no private entity can conduct paid sports training camps or classes in their parks.
Anupam Ghosh a resident of AL Block in New Town said that they could not fathom why NKDA was barring block committees from running such camps.
“There is an existing established system. We have had some good coaches to train the children and they are doing quite well. Adjusting to a new format will be tough,” said Ghosh.
Debashis Sen, the NKDA chairman, however, said that there was a need for regularisation of the activities that were being held at the parks and playgrounds.
“What we are trying to do is to have a set of coach’s who have trained their worth. Moreover, we will not charge more than Rs 500 as fees from any child. Underprivileged yet talented children will be imparted free classes as well as kits,” said Sen.
According to Sen, the camps are scheduled to start from August 15.
NKDA has turned eight playgrounds that can host training camps for football karate as well as cricket.
The parks have well laid out grass turf goal posts and other infrastructure including high steel fencing in place to ensure that balls don’t go out of the parks.
The eight parks are located in DA, DB, DC, BA, BC, AL and CB blocks and opposite the NKDA administrative office next to Rabindra Tirtha in DF Block.