PT Usha alleges illegal encroachment at her athletics school in Kerala

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha on Saturday broke down before the media alleging that illegal construction work was being carried out in the compound of her Usha School of Athletics in Kerala and the ones responsible for it also misbehaved with the management on being confronted.

She also said that the work was stopped after a complaint to the police.

"Some people barged into the compound of Usha School of Athletics and began construction work. When management confronted them, they misbehaved. They claimed that they had permission from Panangad panchayat, we complained to the police and work was stopped," said Usha while talking to the media.

She also said inmates at the Usha School of Athletics had been facing such harassment and security issues for some time and it intensified after she became a Member of the Upper House.

Notably, Usha had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP in July 2022.

She also highlighted that her concern is the safety of girls studying there.

"It is a growing institution, so many athletes are being trained there and this is not the first time such an incident has taken place. The safety of the girls studying there is our key concern, we still could not build a fence or boundary around the area," said Usha.

She also alleged that drug addicts and couples barge into the compound at night and dump waste into the drainage and urged Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to resolve the issue.

"People including drug addicts and couples barge into the compound at night and few dump waste into the drainage. We are being targeted continuously. We need to make sure of the safety of our girls. We request Kerala CM to interfere and resolve this issue," said Usha.

Usha School of Athletics is dedicated to "advancing promotion and practice of sports at possible levels with state-of-the-art facilities in athletic skill development," as per its website.

Legendary athlete PT Usha was elected as the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in November last year.

The star sprinter Usha is one of the greatest athletes to have ever come out of India and brags four gold medals and seven silvers at the Asian Games. She missed out on a podium finish in the women's 400m hurdles at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics by 1/100th of a second. Her timing of 55.42s in LA still holds as a national record.