Speculations are rife that the Noida stadium may soon be privatized and people will have to pay an entrance fee on visiting it. Earlier too in 2004, the former CEO of the authority, Deo Datta Sharma, had tried to charge entrance fees from people visiting the stadium.
However, the authority had to ultimately cancel the idea after protests erupted in Noida.
Sources claim that learning various sports in the stadium are also set to get expensive.
Three months ago, when the authority had hiked the coaching fees in the stadium, residents had to bear the excess charges for using sports facilities.
Residents have said that people from more than eighteen sectors and twelve villages visit the stadium regularly. Further, due to lack of playing grounds in the city, children too visit it for participating in sports activities.
Residents have further claimed that if the stadium falls in private hands, the facilities here will become highly expensive.
Social activist Mahendra Awana has said that the privatisation of the stadium will not be accepted by the people. Further, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Veer Singh Yadav has threatened of a stir if the stadium gets privatised.
Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations (FONRWA) president N P Singh too has said that the stadium shouldn’t be privatised at any cost.
He further added that he has also spoken to the authority’s chairman, Alok Tandon regarding the matter.
He said that Tandon had assured him that the stadium wouldn’t be privatised and the authority had only asked for people and companies to offer their views for it’s improvement.
However, when City Spidey tried to contact the officials of the authority, they declined to comment on the matter.
