A sports club has been founded in New Town which is getting anchored in the BC Block playground.
New Town Amateur Sports Club is starting with the aim to train youngsters in a variety of sporting disciplines. “Both adults and children are trapped in a virtual world, stuck to their mobile phones. In New Town, we see parents put so much pressure on children that they have little exercise. And why only children? We want even senior citizens to come to the ground. They get morose and disconnected from society seated at home as many of them stay alone with children settled elsewhere. Let them form a laughing club or go for evening walks with others,” said Samaresh Das, president of the club.
The club has signed an agreement with the block authorities for the use of the ground. “Aj mathey pranprotistha holo. If quality players come up from this training facility we will be very proud,” said Gauri Prasad Paine, the president of New Town BC Block Cultural Association.
Speaking to The Telegraph Salt Lake on the sidelines of the event, he alleged how outsiders were spoiling the ground. “NKDA had taken over the ground at one point and we had to hold an agitation to get back its use. We have to use the ground actively so that outsiders cannot invade. Even if we kept it locked, they had cut through the wired fencing to barge in. That is why we wanted an academy to start here to train our children,” he alleged.
The club’s coaching facilities are open to all. “We are starting with cricket, football and karate from April 1. The monthly fees will be Rs 700, Rs 600 and Rs 600 respectively,” said club secretary Arvind Kumar Das. Talented children from underprivileged backgrounds would be considered for free coaching.
The opening was attended by footballer and New Town AL Block resident Mehtab Hossain who urged the budding players to become good human beings first. “Another quality we sportspeople have is we never give up,” he said.
Former Bengal opener and chairman of state cricket selection committee Subhamoy Das, a resident of Sourav Abasan in AG Block, felt the ground had good possibility. Laltu Sarkar, a cricket coach of 30 years, who has coached the likes of M.S. Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha and Shibshankar Paul when they played at Shambazar Club, urged parents not to force children to cricket or football if they had an inclination for any other sport. “Let them play the sport of their choice,” he said.
