Do residential areas in the south of Chennai have enough playgrounds and play areas? A mere physical count of the number in the south, as compared to the other parts of the city will make it clear that this hub is being neglected.

Social activist Santhanam, who echoes the voices of residents in these areas, says no. “There are no professional stadia or playgrounds in areas like Pallavaram, Chromepet and Pammal. Sports is needed ensure all-round development of children. It keeps them away from unnecessary stuff. Children in these localities play on the streets and since there is no proper place for them to practice, their skills remain rudimentary. They lose out on becoming professionals,” said Mr. Santhanam.  

A resident of Chromepet, who did not want to be named, said that there were many open spaces that could be reclaimed. “Earlier, children could play on the streets, but in many cases even those have become inaccessible since cars and bikes are parked wherever space is available. There used to be a lake in Chromepet, that has now vanished. There used to be a playground opposite the old chrome factory but when the land on which the factory was located, it vanished. There has been no replacement,” he said.  

Ismail of Pallavaram said that if residential associations were able to identify open spaces, then local bodies would be able to develop these for use of children.

If this is the situation outside the city, footballers and silambam practitioners using a football ground on Erikarai Street in Kottur said that have lost their ground to development. “It had no fancy stuff, just two goal posts were enough for us. Every year at least a few footballers used to get into colleges via sports quota because of this. But now, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has been doing some work like laying of pathways constructing stuff inside. We have three parks in the vicinity – Eco park, Govindhasamy park and ABCD park – as if those are not enough for walkers, our football ground too has been taken over for the same purpose,” said a footballer, whose team members have been protesting against this unwanted development. Sources in CMDA did not respond.  

Sources in the SDAT said that a Chief Minister’s stadium is to come up soon at Tambaram. “Tenders are to be floated for the facility to be built at a cost of Rs. 3 crore. The district sports complexes are functioning very well at Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu. Local playgrounds and parks have to be developed by the respective local bodies,” said an official source.  

Officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation said that several facilities had come up in zones under in south. For instance, in Zone 15 alone playfields for kabaddi, volleyball, basketball, and skating are coming up at Kannagi Nagar, Ezhil Nagar, Gangai Amman Main Road, and Tsunami Quarters.