Mumbai: Kamgar bhavan gets (ar)cheery

The throbbing centre of the sporting community in the ParelPrabhadevi area and the lifeline of budding athletes the Maharashtra Kamgar Krida Bhavan has been greenlighted for a revamp after decades The Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board has plans to elevate the existing facilities to global standards and also add support for other disciplinesThe 70yearold complex already nurtures kickboxing badminton table tennis swimming and artistic gymnastics by providing coaching and membership at competitive fees And now there will be facilities for rifle shooting and archery The range for both Olympic sports will be ready within a few weeks for competition and coaching will commence soon afterEstablished in July 1953 the club supports sports coaching at the grassroot level ldquoCoaches and administrators lived and breathed local sport never mind that there was hardly any money or fame They would coach their wards for hours under the harsh sunrdquo says water polo player Pradeep Divgikar who competed in water polo in the 1970s and 1980s He was also an administratorAn archery tournament in progress PicsSayyed Sameer AbedildquoEven then it was evident that Kamgar was more than just a swimming pool or a stadium I remember all the practice sessions and competitions at the pool and witnessed the Mafatlal football team playing there The shouts of gooooaaal the orders of swimming and water polo coaches as the trainees took to the water The kabaddi teams coming in to trainhellip the place was such a vibrant thread weaved into the sporting fabric of MumbairdquoMost importantly Kamgar had one of the few Olympicsized 50 mt pools in the city ldquoWhen the Mahatma Gandhi pool at Shivaji Park was closed or inaccessible wersquod practise at Kamgarrdquo says Divgikar ldquoThat was the understanding and generosity of coaches and administrators the sharing of facilities This is the spirit we need for grassroots sportrdquo While sports took precedence Kamgar also was a venue for cultural programmes bank annual days and other celebrations ldquoEarthy gritty and very solid sans snob value Kamgar was a community space in every sense of the wordrdquo he addsAlso read Greek gods English wordsThe sports club which recently drew flak for its decay especially the lush growth of fungus in the swimming pool was shut during the COVID19 pandemic ldquoWe were afraid that the comatose Kamgar may not wake uprdquo adds Divgikar ldquoOr would lie derelict till some sharks not those who fancy its pool water but the land it stands on may take over The facelift is certainly hearteningrdquoA new library with computers has been added to the sports complexAn official from the Board said that the sports activities were about to be shut down due to low footfall ldquoBut the sporting revival in 2021 increased the number of members and the decision was made to renovate the complex and give it a new avatarrdquo said the official The complex is spread over four acres and serves as a meridian between homely Dadar and corporate Lower Parel It comprises two buildingsmdashthree stories and seven storiesmdashand a ground Itrsquos the sevenstorey building thatrsquos marked for a facelift The basement will house a 15person shooting range for competitions as well as a dojo for kickboxing Its ground floor will have an 80metre range for archery and a library with computers that can take in at least 147 studentsThe first floor in the threestorey building will be dedicated to badminton the second floor dedicated to table tennis will also house an art gallery The embarrassing and unhygienic swimming pool is also under renovation A space has also also allocated for a nursery and sewing classesBut the jewels in the crown are the archery and shooting ranges ldquoCouple of years ago on our foundation dayrdquo recalls Raviraj Ilawe the Boardrsquos Welfare Commissioner ldquoThe then commissioner Rajiv Nitwale called a meeting with different representatives from both sports and decided to have dedicated ranges hererdquo The District Planning Committee released the funds required and the ranges came up in MarchldquoWe are the first government body to have a dedicated 80meter space for archeryrdquo Ilawe says with pride ldquothe ground has high mast lights safety shield and a shed On October 14 it hosted its first divisionlevel competition in which at least 200 archers participatedrdquoPradeep DivgikarThe rifle shooting range proved to be a bit more of a hassle ldquoWe struggled to find the appropriate space finally settling on the basementrdquo he says ldquoThe problem is that rainwater accumulates during monsoon However we consulted experts and built channels that will route the water to a tank We even hosted a competition a few months ago and trials are underway Soon it will be thrown open to the publicrdquo The increased interest in the sport paved the way for the addition of one more badminton courtParents of sporty children are elated ldquoMy daughter Twisha plays archery hererdquo says Laxman Palkar ldquoShe was happy to experience a different sport coach Mayuresh Deshmukh guided her very well Both my children have begun practising archeryrdquo ldquoThe complex is very accessible with a functioning washroomrdquo says Dr Jui Sindhe whose 12yearold son Rian Patil participated in the districtlevel tournament for archery Table tennis enthusiast Premal Dharoal is happy to be able to practise without a partnerldquoI have been playing here for four to five years nowrdquo he says ldquoAnd they have robots as opponents Only posh clubs have such technologyrdquo Twentytwoyearold Siddhesh Raut has been a regular for over 10 years ldquoThe badminton court was good but the other facilities needed renovationrdquo he says ldquoI started my badminton journey from this courtrdquo says 18yearold Piyush Kamble ldquoThe coaches here are good and helpful I canrsquot wait to practise on our new court I hope it happens soonrdquoThe krida bhavan has always been a beacon of light back to the time when the area was a mill district before it changed to skywalled buildings and banking suits ldquoWhere could the very middleclass person go and swim in those daysrdquo says Divgikar ldquoAt pools such as the one at Kamgar which had affordable fees Even today though the area has transformed therersquos a significant demographic of former mill workersrsquo families Our Asian Games medallists show that the talent pool is large and champions can come from any strata It is important that we have such facilitiesrdquoWhatrsquos newgtgt Archery rangegtgt Riffle rangegtgt New badminton courtgtgt Renovated swimming poolgtgt Library with computersgtgt Art gallerygtgt Sewing classesgtgt Nurserygtgt Kickboxing dojo