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Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad
By V. V. Subrahmanyam
The reason? The post-Afro-Asian Games financial crunch saw the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) fail to pay the bills totalling Rs.1.56 crores. All that it could do was to clear about Rs. 5 lakhs recently. The sports complex, widely believed to be the best in India for having world-class facilities for most of the disciplines at one centre, is now without metro water supply and the show is being run with the help of tankers. Interestingly, official sources point out that immediately after the Afro-Asian Games the outstanding bills for the water consumed alone was about Rs. 40 lakhs and this included the bills pending since the 32nd National Games held at the same venue. The reason for the huge dues is the also because the SAAP had failed to pay the cost of laying the supply line. ``How can we be asked to pay the pipeline cost now?'' asks a senior official. What exactly is the daily requirement? About three lakh litres. And this is the break-up which ensures a picturesque view of the complex: Hockey complex - 45,000 litres for one full session of 70 minutes if the venue is used. Swimming pool - actual requirement for competition is 6 lakh litres and for general maintenance 2 lakh litres (there is a repeated shortfall for obvious reasons in recent months). Landscaping - 2 lakh litres. Water available through the borewell at the complex is about 50,000 litres per day. By all means it is a pitiable sight to see the top brass of SAAP run from pillar to post to raise finances to run the show after the lavish manner in which money was spent in the last three years. Call it abundance of riches then or the piling misery for the incumbent. The end result is that SAAP is in a real financial mess. G. Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of SAAP, says he is helpless. "What can I do if bills of even the National Games are sent now for clearance. Where is the money?" he asks. It is unmistakable that he had inherited a legacy on the financial front which he is certainly not enjoying at all. There is the other side of the story too. If SAAP doesn't entertain the requests of national federations in hosting national camps, then it will face the criticism of not making optimum use of the world-class facility. Ironically, only today K.P.S. Gill, president of the Indian Hockey Federation, informed that they would be hosting the final preparatory camp before the Athens Olympics qualifiers in February-March. Conveniently, the overheads run into lakhs which the SAAP is struggling to bear. Senior officials strongly feel that unless the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, intervenes , SAAP might well end up in a real, financial soup. What a sorry state of affairs in what is fast tipped to be the emerging sports capital of India!
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