India, Oct. 19 -- Days after the Thane Municipal Corporation allowed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to set up a private academy next to the Maulana Abul Kalaam Azad TMC Stadium in Mumbra, residents, opposing the move, have warned of protests.

Maulana Abul Kalaam Azad TMC Stadium, which opened in January 2017, is the only major open sports space available to over 10 lakh residents of Mumbra and Kausa, and has been in a state of severe neglect. At the time of its inauguration, the sports complex boasted a wide range of facilities, including a 400-meter, eight-lane synthetic athletic track, an athletic gallery, a four-court indoor badminton hall, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, a yoga hall, c...