Kolkata: At a time when local football is going through its worst phase, former Indian Football Association (IFA) secretary and All India Football Federation (AIFF) vice-president Subrata Dutta has made it clear that he is unhappy with the poor maintenance of grounds in West Bengal. Dutta said, "The ground conditions here are poor. There is complete lack of infrastructure except for the little we see at Yuva Bharati Krirangan (YBK) and Barasat Stadium (with a capacity of 20,000) of late." He said even the Salt Lake Stadium, as YBK is commonly known, wears a dismal look, though it is famous for its 1,25,000 capacity. "The pitch has not been re-laid for the last two decades. The underground drainage has suffered too. The toilets leak, the seats are broken. As the IFA secretary, I had tried (to improve things), but in vain."

In fact, Dutta had tried to get Stadel Hotel to sponsor a family enclosure near the stadium's VIP zone with bucket seats, catering, sleek toilets and other amenities. This would have encouraged families to come for derby ties and the government would have earned some extra money too.

"But the property belongs to the government and they somehow did not show much interest. Let me bust another myth that the state has a stadium in almost every district as claimed by the sports department. Having a closed enclosure with a few stands doesn't make a stadium. You need to have dressing rooms, proper maintenance facilities and all that. More often than not these are reduced to grazing grounds for cows and goats, than for proper football," he said.

Asked why clubs don't promote their own stadium away from the maidan in the centre of the city, Dutta said, "What can you say. They are too engrossed with their clubs and tents. I had given them a proposal to make social clubs and run them as a profitable business and use the revenue to improve the infrastructure in their ground or buy a plot of land and develop it.

"In other countries, football clubs see their establishment as an entertainment business. People become members of the respective clubs, patronize them, sponsor events, buy merchandise, spend evenings at the club. It is a social spot. But here the idea has fallen flat. They have failed to create a brand image. The problem is the clubs are not run professionally. They are non-commercial ventures. A pastime and a game cannot improve if it is only an honorary service," he added.

Of the big three in Kolkata football, the East Bengal ground can hold 23,500 spectators, the Mohun Bagan ground 19,000 and the Mohammedan Sporting ground 10,000. The Mohun Bagan ground has floodlights. One of the best-maintained grounds in the state is in Kalyanai, about two hours from Kolkata. It has a modified clubhouse with plans for galleries. (IANS)