Turf war ends, Santa Cruz p’yat gets both stadiums

Panaji: The directorate of sports and youth affairs has issued a circular to change the official written address of the two stadiums — Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium and the Athletics Stadium.

The two are now confirmed as venues at Santa Cruz.“This is an achievement for the village of Santa Cruz because a year-long fight has come to a logical conclusion,” said panch Inacio Dominic Pereira. “We will now be on the world map because they are among India’s premier stadiums. It was unfair to have them under other panchayats.”This move follows a turf battle for the two sports venues — the Athletics Stadium at Cujira, which was claimed to fall under St Andre constituency, and Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium located near Goa University, which was claimed to be under Taleigao constituency.The Tiswadi mamlatdar’s office recently confirmed the jurisdictional details for both the sports venues as Santa Cruz after receiving formal requests from the Sports Authority of Goa. TOI reported on Sep 14, 2024, that a decade after the inauguration of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Santa Cruz locals were calling for a change in its name to reflect the village.