Youths play football on the road to protest against the absence of space for sports, at Dakbungalow roundabout in Patna on Sunday. Telegraph picture

Patna, July 31: Sportspersons today protested against space crunch for players ina sporting spirit. They took to the street this morning not to disrupt the vehicular movement but to play soccer.

Perhaps taking inspiration from the centenary celebrations of Mohun Bagan’s IFA Shield victory, more than 100 sports enthusiasts led by Bihar Players’ Association president Mritunjay Tiwari gathered at the busy Dakbungalow roundabout around 9.30am. The protest match against shrinking playgrounds kicked off at 10am. The dribble and tackles on the street continued for an hour.

The hour-long protest through football frenzy at the busy roundabout did not affect the traffic much as it was a Sunday morning. But thousands noticed the protesters, proving that vandalism is not the only way of agitation.

Amit Pandey, who runs a shop at Dakbungalow roundabout, said: “We were shocked to see people, including girls, playing soccer on road. For a few minutes, we were unable to guess what was going on. But as the game progressed, we realised it was being played for a noble cause.”

Pandey, an ardent sports lover, claimed that in the past five years several parks were developed. But there is hardly any open space for players to hone their skills.

Archana Kumari, who played football at the roundabout, said: “The government apathy towards promotion of sports can be gauged from the fact that Bihar having a population of nearly nine crore faces difficulty even in getting medals at National Games, leave aside the Asiad and the Olympics.”

Tiwari, who led the protesters taking the street for soccer, said: “The open space and grounds developed as parks are restricted to morning-walkers — mainly elderly persons. Youngsters have no space to play.”

Pointing out the raw deal meted out to sports in the state capital, Tiwari said the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium is in a pitiable state. Garbage has been dumped on the site earmarked for developing a hockey turf for Sports Authority of India (SAI) cadets.

Industrial waste, including metal and rubber, biological waste and garbage, has been piled up on the ground sprawling over two-and-a-half acres inside the premises of the state’s lone international cricket venue, Moin-ul-Haq Stadium.

For the past one month, garbage is being dumped on the stadium premises. But neither the stadium authorities nor the state sports department officers have taken up the issue with the Patna Municipal Corporation.

Gandhi Maidan, located in the heart of the state capital, has been dug up for beautification.

Tiwari said: “If the state government does not pay attention to our demand for proper space to play within a fortnight, we will take out a protest march playing soccer from the chief minister’s secretariat to Raj Bhavan.”