THANE, Jan. 4 -- Polling booths and temporary tents being erected at Holy Cross Convent School for the upcoming municipal elections could destroy a new athletics track, even as the school keeps up pressure on the civic body to get the booths relocated. The surface was recently laid on the new athletics track, built at a cost Rs.80 lakh, and any pressure on it, at this stage, could cause irreversible damage, the school says. The school claims they had met Umesh Birari, deputy municipal commissioner (elections), TMC, on Friday and asked the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to shift the booths to other spaces in the school. "They said they would direct the civic staff to relocate the booths but work continues on the ground and track," said Sandhya Mandarekar, the school's athletics coach. The athletics facility was built to nurture young women athletes. With the absence of sports facilities in the vicinity, the school and parents together raised funds for a dedicated athletics track to train their students for competitive sports. Holy Cross Convent School has a stellar sporting record and, only last month, three girls from the school represented Maharashtra at the national level and won gold medals. Anna Anthony won gold in the under-14, 80 m hurdles at the 69th School National Games organised in Delhi, in December 2025. Her father, Jijo Antony, said, "There is no sports facility for girls in Thane. We have been taking our girls 15 km away to the Mumbra Sports Complex for practice. We cannot afford to pay Rs.3,00-4,000 each time to transport hurdles in trucks, in addition to the commuting expense. Besides, the stadium is not in good condition." Sandhya Mandarekar, athletics coach at Holy Cross Convent School, said, "Around 80 girls regularly practice on this ground, and more than 20 girls have participated at the national level and won gold and silver medals. We badly needed a new track so that the girls could practice." Mandarekar said work on the new track was underway for the last eight months. "Now, when it is in the final stage, the election commission has taken over the ground and has begun drilling holes to erect the polling booths." Josephine Dias, the school's headmistress, told HT, "Our institution is more than 60 years old and we have given many national- and state-level athletes to the nation. In the past, we have allowed the election authorities to use our ground and school but we cannot let the new track be destroyed. We have offered two maidans and halls along with eight classrooms for polling booths, but they are not ready to take them." Umesh Birari, deputy municipal commissioner (Elections), TMC, did not respond to calls and messages for comment....