Wrestlers take up sickles to protest neglect of Kolhapur's historic Khasbag ground

Kolhapur: On Sunday morning, October 11, more than 100 wrestlers and fans of the sport turned up at the historic Shahu Khasbaug wrestling ground carrying sickles, not to wrestle but to clear the waist-high grass covering it. They wanted to highlight how the authorities have neglected the arena, built more than a century ago along the lines of European ones.

Empty liquor bottles, cigarette packets and scented-tobacco wrappers lay among the weeds. Two years ago a fire destroyed the podium at the ground along with the neighbouring Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha theatre; what caused it and how it spread remain unknown.

Ramesh More, convener of the District Citizens Forum, said the government had sanctioned ₹25 crore to restore both the theatre and the podium; the theatre has since been rebuilt, but two years on the podium is still in ruins. Wrestlers said the ground is a key venue for practice and big contests, and with the season under way it cannot be used.

The protesters said that unless the ground is fit for use within eight days, they will hold demonstrations outside the homes of MP Shahu Chhatrapati and MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar.

Source: The Times of India