visakhapatnam the tall claims of the state government notwithstanding the sports authority of andhra pradesh saap fails to get the financial support to take up water sports in visakhapatnam the saap has planned to take up yachting and surfing in the port city but with no help coming from the state government the proposal has remained on paper these sports may not be held even during the ensuing visakha utsav the government announced a multipurpose stadium in madhurawada and another stadium in steel plant as well as various sports academies in agency areas but on the flip side water sports have been given a miss even though the port city has the potential for water sports such as yachting and surfing a saap employee and national level surfing coach melville smythe said theres no government initiative or financial aid for setting up professional water sports institutes and to promote surfing or yachting in vizag whose long coastline is suited for such sports no budget has been earmarked for these sports in the upcoming visakha utsav at one corner of rushikonda beach smythe teaches water sports to locals as well as foreigners the makeshift dolphin yachting and waveriders surf school has no fencing and picnickers come and litter the place and even use it as an open urinal each surf board costs anything between rs 20000 and rs 50000 depending on the type of material used fibre or epoxy just on 250 square yards of land i can teach students surfing and keep the boards safe but theres lack of interest on the part of the government to host these sports during visakha utsav we need rs 15000 to rs 20000 said smythe