Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Bid to shift sports school opposed

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Oct. 21. The Mayor, J. Chandra, has accused vested interests of trying to scupper the relocation of the G.V.Raja Sports School from Shangumukham to Mannanthala.

Addressing a press conference, she said the Government move to shift the proposed site from Mannanthala to Mylam, near Aruvikkara, would deprive the school of several advantages.

She said the Mannanthala site was approved by the previous LDF regime on the basis of its proximity to the city and the ready availability of a swimming pool and land for a stadium. A relocation at this stage will deprive the school of this infrastructure and entail a large financial burden in setting up these facilities from scratch, she said.

The Mayor said the functioning of the school at Mannanthala was formally inaugurated at a function on March 5, 2001. The then Speaker, M. Vijayakumar, the former Education Minister P.J. Joseph, and V.S. Sivakumar, MP, had participated in the function.

The shifting of the School from its present location at Shangumukham became necessary after the Indian Air Force acquired the 18-acre site in 1998. In June 2001, the Government issued an order approving the site of the defunct Mannanthala high school in the Ulloor panchayat for relocating the school. The panchayat had promised to provide the two-acre pond nearby for a swimming pool and a 1.5- acre plot for construction of a stadium.

The Government had also approved, in principle, a proposal to allocate Rs. 76 lakhs to provide interim facilities for the school at this site. It was decided then, to award this work to the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra and to constitute a project committee to supervise the work and to ensure its timely completion.

Ms.Chandra said the Mylam site was acquired by the Government for the specific purpose of setting up industrial projects.

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