The brief visit of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to the city last week left a huge scar on a playground of Andhra University.
The R and B Department prepared a temporary concrete helipad by digging up the cricket pitch in the middle of the AU Golden Jubilee ground.
Even if they act fast in removing the concrete and filling up the pit, it would take a lot of time for the pitch to take its original shape. And, till then, not only cricket but other games like football cannot be played on the ground. Laying pitch, even for a matting wicket, is not an easy task and it also takes a lot of time.
The ground turned useless since the first week of this month when a huge pit was dug up to make ready a temporary helipad for the Chief Minister’s chopper. His visit to the city to attend a private function was cancelled but the pit remained there and was full of water thanks to the recent rain. Sports lovers and AU hoped the R and B Department would act fast and fill up the pit so that the ground takes a semblance of playground. The department kept quiet and caused more damage as they prepared a concrete helipad, though it is said to be temporary, giving a rude shock to the sports lovers.
Incidentally this ground was the venue for Ranji matches, inter-university matches in the past and many cricket players, who rose to Test status later played here.
