Conversion will hit sports: Footballer

Husein Haveliwala,
Campion School

Campion School footballer Aman Sariya is worried about his practice sessions. He isn’t sure where he will have to move once the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) takes away the Sabina Chandrashekar Garden Ground in Colaba, where he regularly practices, to turn it into a swimming pool and a car park.

“Many schools have been making use of the facilities there for a long time now. It’s not fair to ask them to leave to make place for a public pool. Maybe some part of the ground can be taken over by the BMC, but it should have thought of another site that is less used,” he argued.

“As a footballer, I am worried about our practice space. Our football team comes at least third every year in tournaments and the construction of this pool could cause our practice space to be decreased and in turn, our ranking to fall. The basketball court is also going to be demolished. Two basketball courts are not enough to accommodate students from over six schools for everyday practice and training for tournaments.”

He pointed out that the BMC’s move will also reduce the green cover on the premises as well. He argued that the public swimming pool may compromise with standards of sanitation.

“Agreed that underprivileged children will be delighted to have a swimming pool to use, but we must keep in mind that Mumbai has very few open spaces and we need to save each one,” he insisted.