HC stays stadium demolition; govt says must for security

Lucknow, July 10 (UNI) Even as the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court stayed the demolition of Ambedkar Sports Complex till July 19, the Uttar Pradesh government today announced that if required the stadium could be demolised for security of adjacent Ambedkar Memorial.

Replying to an adjournment motion in the state assembly, state Parliamentary Affairs minister Lalji Verma said the residences and sports hostels of the stadium were vacated following a security threat to the adjoining Ambedkar Memorial received by the state government on June 8.

Though announcing that the government would construct an international stardard multi-sports complex in Gomti Nagar for which process for land acquisation has started, Mr Verma said all the employees of the stadium had been transferred to other places and the sportspersons to K D Singh Babu Stadium in the state capital.

'' For security reasons if it is required then only the stadium would be demolised,'' Mr Verma said.

However, BJP member Hukum Singh, who moved by the motion, took great exception to the decision of the government to demolish the stadium citing security reasons.

''We know how government manipulates files citing security threat for different reasons. This was a black day for the sports in the state and the BSP government was misusing its power after the people gave them an absolute mandate in the assembly polls,'' Mr Singh said.

The BJP member said the Ambedkar sports complex has given the state some national cricket talents like Suresh Raina and R P Singh and several others are in the line but the government's act has given a blow to the sports faternity of the state.

However, the minister maintained that till now there is no demolition and the employees and sportspersons have vacated the stadium volunatarly and the bulldozer went their last night to clean up the drains. ''The government was committed for the uplift of the sports in the state and will not do anything to demoralise the youth, '' he further added.

The situation drifted away from the stadium issue, when Samajwadi Party deputy leader Mohd Azam Khan said after Mohammad Ali Jahaur University, the government was razing the Ambedkar Stadium.

The statement of Mr Khan was objected to by Mr Verma saying the university's land was acquired illegally by the previous government and hence their allotments were being cancelled.

The BJP member Mr Singh alleged that the act of the government to vacate the stadium, constructed through public funds, was gross misuse of power. ''If they really wanted the place for making any other memorial, then they should have constructed another stadium and then they could have done it without any opposition,'' he stated.

Earlier, an Urgency Bench of the Allahabad High Court here stayed the demolition of Ambedkar Sports Complex and posted the matter for further hearing on July 19.

A bench of Justices Pradip Kant and D P Singh stayed the demolition after hearing both the sides.

In a dramatic development last night, the state government had reportedly ordered the complex officials to vacate premises within four hours so that it could be demolished. It is claimed that the multi-crore Gomti Nagar stadium was soon be transformed into Chief Minister Mayawati's dream project, the Kanshi Ram literary centre.

The Gomti Nagar stadium houses sports infrastructure worth Rs 20 crore, including six tennis courts, two badminton courts, swimming pools and a gymnasium.

The Urgency Bench gave its decision on a petition filed by one Prashant Chandra on behalf of the Sports Complex.

The court also ordered vice-chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), SSP (Lucknow) and Secretary (Sports) of the UP government to record their statements.

However, Advocate General Jyotindra Mishra informed the court that there were no plans to demolish the complex. He said the bulldozers were placed there to be moved on to another location.

The urgency bench of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has given the government three days' time to file a counter reply and another three days day to the petitioner to file a counter affidavit.

Interestingly, Ms Mayawati, who during her earlier stint as CM, had inaugurated the stadium in 1994 and named it Dr B R Ambedkar Stadium.

UNI