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Environmentalists urged the KSCA and other cricket bodies to learn a lesson from this incident and keep it in mind before acquiring lands for their stadiums.
In a classic case of nature hitting back on the encroachment of humans in its territory, the Karnataka State Cricket Cricket Association (KSCA) stadium in Shivamogga, built on the place where a historical tank existed for decades, in Navule has been inundated following heavy rainfall in the region.
Prior to the construction of the stadium in 2010, a huge water tank with an area exceeding 30 acres existed in the place, according to locals and environmentalists from the area.
"Today, the Navule tank has taken over its original pride, it was a historical tank and the extent of it was more than 31 acres. In the early 2000s, the local Zila Panchayat declared it useless and gave it to the KSCA for merely Rs 10,000 annual rent. The KSCA should take a lesson from this and stop encroaching on the area of tanks as they are an important part of the ecosystem," Ajay Sharma, an environmentalist said.
A local added that including the heavy rainfalls, the flooding of the stadium also spoke volumes about the lack of proper drainage in the area.
"In just 3-4 days of rain, it has been flooded due to the rain and streams flowing in from the nearby areas. It was a tank earlier too, now it will take atleast a month to get the water drained out," local resident Jayappa said.
The environmentalists and locals have urged the KSCA and other cricket bodies to learn a lesson from this incident and keep it in mind before acquiring lands for their stadiums. They also urged the civic bodies to take steps to stop encroachment on water bodies and to protect them for future generations.
"Cricket has great ambassadors like Sachin (Tendulkar), (Rahul) Dravid and (Anil) Kumble, who have given messages to protect the environment, the cricket associations should also respect nature and keep it in mind before starting new projects," Sharma added