State to build Rs 23-cr sports complex at Kandivli

It appears that sports is getting a much-needed boost from the state government. After the inauguration of the District Sports Complex at Dharavi on July 20, the stage is all set to create another sports complex, this time in Shimpoli village in Kandivli.

Efforts are on to start work at the complex, which spans across 12 acres of land, next month and sources added that the complex would house world-class facilities that every aspiring sport star requires.

Getting sporty: The divisional sports complex at Shimpoli, which will span 12 acres, will be built on the same lines as the District Sports Complex at Dharavi that was inaugurated on July 20. File Pic

The complex will have a 400-metre track and pavilion, a football ground, a swimming pool, an indoor stadium, tennis courts, a fitness centre, and an administrative building. Sources revealedthat a budget of Rs 23 crore had been approved for the project.

They also added that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was likely to perform a bhoomi poojan at the centre next month. In addition to the complex being built at Shimpoli, sources said that another complex spread across 12 acres would be built by the civic body at Aksar, Borivli.

Together, these two sports complexes will fulfill the long-standing demand for better sports facilities in the city's northern region, added an official.

As per state policy, each sports division in the state should ideally have its own divisional-level sports complex, and while a district-level sports complex has been developed at Dharavi for the city of Mumbai, one is yet to be developed for Mumbai suburban district. u00a0

Dharavi's sports complex
Built on a 12,430-square metre plot at a cost of Rs 23 crore, the sports complex has facilities for outdoor and indoor games that include a 200-metre track, a 340-seat auditorium, a multi-purpose hall for table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, boxing and taekwando. Space has been allotted for two volleyball courts, a basketball court and two key grounds, each for indigenous games such as kabaddi and kho-kho. Also, swimming and diving pools of 25 and 15 metre lengths have been designed to take care of aquatics at the junior and school levels. The three-storeyed structure has been named after former Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi.