Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The second edition of Khelo MP Youth Games was inaugurated with great fanfare in the city on Tuesday, with the chief minister Mohan Yadav remarking that the launching event was giving an Olympics-like feel.
However, the MP Kayaking and Canoeing Academy on the banks of the Lower Lake does not have a toilet. Around 100 players, including para, practice at the Academy every day and they are forced to use nearby Sulabh Shauchalaya. Besides toilet, the academy doesn’t have ramps for para athletes.
The Academy, run by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare (DSW), is nine years old. Inaugurated on August 1, 2017, the academy is open for practice from 6.30 am to 9.30 am and then again from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. It is closed in the second half on Wednesdays and Saturdays and for the whole day on Sundays. Players are trained in kayaking, canoeing and salalam at the academy.
“It is really surprising that the academy has all the necessary equipment but in nine years, they could not build a toilet,” said a paracanoe athlete who has been practising at the Academy since 2022. The athlete said that she has been requesting the authorities for years to get toilets and ramps built but to avail.
A Kayaking player said that not having a toilet was definitely an inconvenience. “We use a Sulabh Shauchalaya located nearby when we need to visit a toilet. The public toilet is not high on hygiene,” the player said, adding that “but what to do. We don’t have a choice.
Pijush Kanti Baroi, Coach, MP Kayaking and Canoeing Academy said, "The Academy does not have a toilet. Our players use the Sulabh Shauchalaya nearby. The BMC does not charge anything from our players for using the public toilet. A proposal for renovation of the Academy has been sanctioned and work will begin soon. Toilets would be built as part of the renovation."
