Shooting range in final stages, now Azam wants it out of LKO

[aaroraa]

Lucknow may be deprived of its shooting range — where the civil work has almost been completed — if Urban Development Minister Azam Khan has his way. In a letter to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Khan has urged for shifting the shooting range to some other district.
“It is true that I have urged the CM to shift the project. Lucknow is reeling under the burden of over-development,” said Khan on Tuesday. He said Lucknow was chosen for the project “for the convenience of officers, it will only serve as a rendezvous for their pastime”.
The shooting range was planned by the Mayawati government after Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in Beijing Olympics. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation was entrusted with the task of constructing it at a cost of Rs 10 crore. It has come up over an area of 35 acres on Kanpur Road near Amausi. When ready, it will also have a swimming pool, a tennis court and other facilities.
At present, most of the civil work is complete. The hall for pistol shooting with . 22 and .32 bore is ready. Other infrastructure, such as low and high houses which are used for rifle shooting, double trap, etc. is also ready.
Equipment like running tracking target, target stand, time recorder, shooter display, gun safes, ear and eye protectors are to be imported. Arms, including air pistols, air rifles of various ranges as 10m, 25m, 50m, are also to be procured. In fact, a deal was finalised but cancelled in the wake of the Commonwealth Games scam in 2010.
“I had only suggested to the government that the import of equipment should be transparent, but the government cancelled the deal,” said former Mayor Dinesh Sharma.
When told that the construction of the shooting range was in final stages, Khan retorted: “So what? It is still on ground and has not vanished in air.’’
“What else will you give to Lucknow? It already has nine universities, memorials, parks and everything. Let other places also get some signs of development.”
Does he want the shooting range shifted to Rampur, his native place? “Not exactly, but the place should have a history of shooting and shooters,” he said.
“There are several districts which qualify for having a shooting range. It could be Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnore, Shahjahanpur and even Rampur,” he said.
The U P State Rifle Association has been demanding that the range be handed over to them for practice and use, but the LMC is unwilling. Incidentally, the Sports Minister is ex-officio chairman of the association.
T P Havelia, vice-president of the U P Olympic Sangh, is against shifting of the range after crores of rupees have been spent. “If the minister is interested, he can get another one constructed. Lucknow has a history of shooting and capable shooters. We should not be deprived of this,” said Havelia.
He said that Lucknow girl Ruchi had won a bronze medal at the ‘21st Meeting of the Shooting Hopes’ tournament organised in Czech Republic from June 23 to 26, 2011. “There are many other budding shooters in Lucknow who can be groomed if provided with proper infrastructure and guidance,” he said.
Ruchi practices at Saraswati Vidya Mandir school in Indira Nagar. “I have taken permission from the principal. I hang the target on a tree and practice there’’, said Ruchi.
At present, UP has shooting ranges at Baghpat, Jagdishpur and Meerut, besides the police shooting ranges in Mirzapur, Sitapur and Moradabad, but none of international standards.
“All are for practice purpose and not for hosting any international event. I doubt that the Lucknow’s shooting range will also meet international standards; officials are only wasting money,” said eminent shooter Rajpal Singh, who manages the Baghpat shooting range.

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