Great athletes are made on maidans, not in malls or on artificial turf. With playgrounds in the city rapidly shrinking, our netas must ensure they are protected from encroachment and are free for all to use

(From left) Sportspersons Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Argentine football player Rodrigo De Paul at Wankhede Stadium on December 14. PIC/x/@Dev_Fadnavis

As Mumbai continues to lose its playgrounds, it is quickly earning the dubious distinction of becoming a BOAT (Baddest of All Time), and a city that turns into a BOAT can never raise a GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Even if Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, with good intentions, launches ambitious sports initiatives, such as mission Maha-Deva, in the presence of global icons Sachin Tendulkar and Lionel Messi, good intentions alone cannot replace ground reality.

In 2011, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) spoke of exploring the possibility of building a sports centre in every ward. Fourteen years later, nothing has moved on this front. Instead, new playgrounds have been steadily disappearing, leaving children with fewer places to play. The gap between big promises and real action is glaring.

Even a BJP office-bearer from Mumbai has flagged the crisis in writing, noting that the city offers barely 1.1 to 1.24 square metres of open space per person, far below the World Health Organisation’s minimum nine square metres and the

© Midday