CHENNAI: Cricket lovers living in and around T Nagar are a frenzied lot this Deepavali. And the reason for their rage is that playgrounds in areas like T Nagar, Trustpuram and Alphonso are being converted into spaces for parking vehicles during the weekends. The major reason attributed to the sudden influx of vehicles in these grounds is the shopping season. The infamous parking problem, which crops up every festive season, results in major shops using school grounds to park vehicles. Hence, young sports enthusiasts looking to play the sport are forced to look for alternatives far away from their neighbourhood.“Scenes from the film Chennai 600028 flash in my mind whenever my friends and I pass by the Alphonso ground,” says Raam, a software professional. “Finding 22 yards of space in any playground is literally God’s gift,” says Sai Vishwanath of Ashok Nagar. Areas such as T Nagar are flooded with shoppers during weekends. And if it is during the festival season, the crowd is even more. Most big shops in the locality ‘take over’ school grounds and utilise them as parking lots during weekends, claims Balaji, a resident of T Nagar. With barely any ‘gully’ available in the bustling metro, Chennai’s famed gully cricket may soon lose its shine if the grim situation follows, he adds.“After the Corporation polls, I hope the elected candidates do something to find us a place to play the sport during the weekends,” says Karthick of Villivakkam. Youths in the locality gather at the Railway School ground near the ICF facility. The recent turn of events has, in fact, led to people coming from far away places to play in the grounds, he says.Residents complain that the local body was keen on developing recreational facilities like parks and gardens, but it forgot to create new playgrounds while developing and beautifying the city. Popular cricket grounds located in T Nagar, RA Puram, Mandaveli, Santhome, Trustpuram and Vyasarpadi get overcrowded during weekends, claims Siddarth, a resident of Perambur. “It is hard to find alternatives in the city. Some schools are simply not willing to allow local youths to play in their grounds during weekends,” claims Ramasubramanian, a resident of T Nagar.North Chennai, famous for its soccer mania, is often not the best place for cricket, leading to clashes between different groups. According to official data, the Chennai Corporation maintains 228 playgrounds under various categories in the city. It is evident that the number of grounds are simply not enough to accomodate all those willing to play. Will the new Council spare a thought?
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