New turf fillip for football

ALUVA: In a novel venture to promote football, Aluva Municipality has commenced its work to create a grass-turf on  municipal recreation ground located  near the court complex.The planting of grass began on Tuesday, in the presence of Municipal authorities and football-lovers. The turf would be ready by the end of December.The council have decided to spend `4 lakhs to plant buffalo grass on the 85 X 65 meter-area of the ground. For the benefit of morning walkers, a footpath has been created around the ground.In the past decade, the recreation ground has helped mould several international, national, state and district players. Senior players had taken pains to coach the young generation here. The ground was a mecca for football aficionados from the nearby area.However, as time passed by, the municipal authorities began to ignore maintenance of the ground. It had turned barren with pebbles spread all over, posing  threat to the players. Repeated plea for renovation had fallen on deaf-ears. Politicians and organisations wanted to use the ground for their own purpose. Their attempts were thwarted by a group of football-lovers led by national player M M Jacob. At last, they succeeded in convincing the municipal authorities of the need for renovation. Many have found the ground suitable for the morning walk. For this, a footpath has been alloted around the ground, to avoid damage to the turf.