The members of the District Sports Club (DSC) located in Dharavi are up in arms against the club’s alleged mismanagement and lack of amenities despite charging hefty fees. The club spread over 12,000 sq mts of prime plot near Bandra Kurla Complex, was constructed at a cost of Rs 21 crore by the state government in 2013 to promote sports activities among the masses. However, the management was handed over to a private firm in 2019 when Vinod Tawde was the minister for sports in the then BJP-led government. The contract was given Oscorp Construction Pvt Ltd despite strong opposition from local people.
“In 2019, the management promised to develop the club in three phases. However, apart from minor interior changes, we do not see any change. We are waiting for a basic cafeteria to come up,” said a lifetime member of the club Vishal Karande.
Karande is a resident of Dharavi, who took the lifetime membership by paying Rs 3 lakhs in 2019 under the special scheme for locals by the DSC. “I am paying the same coaching fees of Rs 21,000 for 50 swimming sessions for my son which a non-member pays. The management focuses on visiting members to make profit,” he alleged.
Another agitated member of the club, Krishna Kumar Jhunjhunwala said, “We are fed up with the management. On my recommendation, several people purchased lifetime memberships. I feel embarrassed whenever those people question me about the condition of the club. I now urge that anyone thinking of taking membership of DSC should rather invest that Rs 10 lakh in a bank fixed deposit. The bank will give good returns!”, Jhunjhunwala said, who is a resident of Pali Hill and a silk trader.
The DSC charges now charge Rs 10 lakh for lifetime membership fees, which was Rs 5 lakh in 2019. “We see no development in five years. There is not a cafeteria to take family along. Our money is wasted. The least we expect is an annual meeting to hear the members. But the District Collector is not bothered to look into the matter,” Jhunjhunwala said.
The club’s committee is headed by the Mumbai City District Collector Sanjay Yadav and panel members include Dy Director (Sports & Youth) Navnath Fardate and District Sports Officer Suhas Vhanmane, along with the Suraj Samat and Yash Sharda from the private management.
The Dharavi Sports Club, also known as Rajiv Gandhi Sports Club was built by MMRDA at the cost of Rs 21 crore and thrown open to the public in 2013. The club provides a gymnasium, swimming pool, squash and badminton courts among others was looked upon as a silent revolution for sports talent in the slums of Dharavi. However, in 2019 the state government roped in a private firm – Oscorp Construction Pvt Ltd to run the club citing that it cannot financially sustain itself.
It is not only the members, but even the coaches who are unhappy with the management. “The management at DSC is to make money for themselves rather than provide facilities to its members. Moreover, there is no objective to shape young talent and produce national sportspersons,” A.I. Singh, former squash coach at the club alleged. “Of the total coaching fee paid by the student, the management takes 60 percent and the coach gets a mere 40 percent, which is the highest ratio the management gets, probably anywhere in India. The club also takes deposit from the coaches, which is absurd,” Singh, who has produced 14 national champions, said.
“The club was initially open to all. The government made the wrong decision to hand it over to a private firm. The objective to find hidden talents among the common masses is lost. We need to promote sports in lower income groups. The sports complex is built by the government by taxpayers money,” said Vishwajeet Shinde, a sports coach from Mumbai, who has also trained Olympic medalist Swapnil Kusale.
Yash Sharda from the club management refused to give his comment. The FPJ called Mumbai City collector Sanjay Yadav, who heads the committee at DSC said that he is out of the city and will discuss the matter once he resumes to duty next week.
