A housing complex in Rajarhat has opened a shooting range where a tournament was held last Sunday.

Siddha Town, at Beraberi near Narayanpur, has a four-lane 10m air rifle range where training is provided by certified coaches from Joydeep Karmakar Shooting Academy (JKSA). “I do not know of any other housing complex in Bengal having an indoor shooting range on its premises,” said Karmakar, an Olympian and a resident of New Town.

The promoters, the Siddha Group, had kept space for a shooting range for which they had sought technical guidance from Karmakar. They had even bought four air guns. But the range was used only briefly, that too in an unsupervised manner. For years, till the time the complex was handed over to the residents’ association in 2024, the space lay unutilised. “We have a multi-sporting arena where football, cricket and volleyball are played. Our three badminton courts have PVC flooring. Our tennis court is being renovated. There are two swimming pools and a gym too. So we have a strong sporting infrastructure on our campus. Last year, we noticed this space lying under lock and key and decided to start shooting facilities,” said Arijit Mukherjee, president of Siddha Town Rajarhat Association of Apartment Owners.

Joydeep Karmakar hands over the prize to Madhulika De, a winner in the tournament on Sunday.

When they contacted Karmakar, they were pleasantly surprised to learn that the former national coach had himself helped design their range. The range was opened in November with coaches from JKSA providing training in the weekends from December. “The best thing about the range is the authorities have not restricted it to their own residents. Though residents get a discount, anyone else can pay and play as well as enrol for coaching,” says Karmakar, who also runs a shooting academy in The Newtown School.

The academy currently has nine students. “We expect enrolments to rise after the annual exams get over,” said Karmakar.

Sunday’s tournament was the second shooting event to be held at the complex after the inaugural one. “Participants numbered over 60. For a niche sport like shooting, it is a significant number. People were initially hesitant. I told them that if they could burst balloons with pellets at fairs, they can do this also,” Karmakar laughed.

There were three age groups that the participants were divided in — up to 13 years, 14 to 20 years and over 20 years. The toppers had the admission fee for the coaching classes waived as a prize. Madhulika De, who won in the intermediate group, is upset that the range did not start earlier. “I am already in Class XII and the pressure of our studies is considerable,” she said. A science student at DPS Newtown, she wants to continue shooting as a hobby. “I have opted for the pay and play option.” Her mother Subhra Sarkar De said the Clubhouse with all its facilities was one of the reasons they chose to settle in Siddha Town. “We are very proud of our shooting range. It is a unique facility in Calcutta.”

Karmakar hopes more housing complexes would follow in the steps of Siddha Town to build sports infrastructure. “There are many talented coaches who do not have access to a facility to provide training. Again, there are facilities which lack coaches. It would be a win-win situation if infrastructure meets expertise. Housing complexes these days have so much space. If they focus on sports, it would provide livelihood options to coaches too,” Karmakar said.

Siddha Town has more plans in this regard. “We have more space where we are considering building a 50m range. We are also preparing to start chess classes soon and are in talks with Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua to seek help from his academy,” said Mukherjee.

Write to saltlake@abp.in