Kerala government explores posssibilities to retain Games Village

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sprawling Games Village here, which won wide applause from athletes and sports officials during the recently concluded 35th National Games, is likely to be retained as such as part of the state government's legacy plan.

Though the government had earlier planned to dismantle the Village, which lodged over 5,000 athletes and sports officials from across the country during the Games, soon after the fortnight-long gala, it is now considering options to retain it as such.

A number of proposals, including renting out the Village cottages to IT companies for lodging employees are being considered, official sources said.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here recently that the Chief Secretary had been asked to expolore the possibilities of retaining the Village as such.

Located at Menamkulam, about 20km away from the city, the Rs 60 crore-Games Village has a range of high end facilities including bank, fitness centre, food court, coffee parlours, ayurvedic centres, solid waste management system and recreational zones.

The professionally managed and well-maintained Village impressed most athletes, coaches and team officials who arrived here from various quarters of the country.

As many as 365 air-conditioned housing units with television sets, coats, beds and other supporting facilities are the major highlights of the Games Village.

The state government had earlier planned to dismantle these buildings, made of prefab technology with polyurethane foam panels, post Games and reuse it for meaningful constructions across the state.

The durability of the prefab buildings is upto 30 years without any maintenance, according to experts.