Protest against site allocated to Sindhu's badminton academy

Visakhapatnam:Local residents of Thotagaruvu in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday protested against a two-acre plot that was allocated to Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu to establish a badminton academy. Locals said the site should be used for building a junior college.

The land parcel was allocated to Sindhu in June 2021 by the previous YSRC government for a dual purpose badminton academy-cum school. The then government had transferred the land from the animal husbandry department in Chinagadili mandal.

Former corporator Ommi Sanyasi Rao protested that while 3 acres were allocated to the high school, an additional 2 acres were yet to be provided. He explained that they requested this land in Arilova for a junior college, but the previous government instead allocated it to PV Sindhu.

"We are not against providing land to the player, but it could be allotted elsewhere so that this area near the existing high school can be used for the college," he added.

When the initial allocation was made, strict conditions were attached to the land grant. "The land should be used only for the purposes of the academy and not for commercial purposes," stated the government order.

The sports and youth affairs department was to transfer the land to P.V. Sindhu's academy after fulfilling various conditions, including submission of academy registration certificates and three years of IT returns.