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Wednesday, Jul 11, 2007
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A midnight move nipped by court

Special Correspondent

A narrow escape from Mayawati’s bulldozers for Lucknow’s Ambedkar Stadium

LUCKNOW: The Mayawati Government’s midnight move to annex the huge Bhimrao Ambedkar Stadium here into the Ambedkar Memorial Park next door in Gomti Nagar suffered a setback on Tuesday when the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court stayed demolition of the sports complex till July 19.

Giving the Government three days to file a rejoinder, the Bench of Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice D. P. Singh ordered that the status quo ante be maintained as it existed before July 9, 2007, and said no construction work would take place at the site till disposal of the case.

The Court order climaxed 12 hours of dramatic developments which saw officials and employees of the sports complex, situated next to the Ambedkar Memorial, being given only four hours to vacate the premises late on Monday night. That move was aimed at bulldozing the complex (bulldozers of the Lucknow Development Authority were kept in readiness) to incorporate the land into the Memorial.

As the Government action caused widespread resentment among sportspersons and sports lovers, a writ petition was moved late on Monday night by Prashant Chandra on behalf of the sports complex. In an unprecedented move, keeping in mind the sentiments of the sportspersons, a Bench was constituted in the middle of the night at the residence of Senior Judge Pradeep Kant at around 1-15 a.m. The Bench pronounced its order at around 3-15 a.m. on Tuesday staying the proposed razing of the stadium till 12 noon.

The stay order was extended till July 19 when the case came up for hearing at noon.

Even as the Court’s order applied brakes on the move to demolish the sports complex, the Government came in for sharp criticism in both Houses of the legislature. The Government’s plea that the move was guided by a threat perception to the Ambedkar statue in the memorial park cut no ice with the Opposition just as it hadn’t with the Court earlier.

The UP Sports Directorate-owned stadium and sports complex built at a cost of Rs. 7 crore was inaugurated by Ms. Mayawati herself when she was Chief Minister back in 1997. It has a lush green field, a gymnasium, a badminton complex, a tennis court and a weightlifting room. Besides hostel facilities for two dozen inmates, there is separate accommodation for coaches and employees. The move to acquire the complex was part of expansion plans for the Ambedkar Memorial. About Rs. 322 crore has been earmarked in the 2007-2008 State Budget for completing the remaining work on the Ambedkar Memorial and Museum.

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