Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 1: Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti today urged the Army and police to stop taking over public playgrounds in Kashmir, cautioning that depriving locals of such spaces could worsen drug abuse, unemployment, and frustration among the Valley’s youth.
After visiting the Tabela Ground in Chhattabal and the MET Ground in Baghat Barzulla in Srinagar, the PDP Chief said residents fear that security forces are fencing off open grounds long used for sports, weddings, funerals, and community gatherings.
“Unfortunately, this has become a routine. People are afraid that the Army may take over that ground where our young children play. Here, we have heard that the police want to make something for the martyrs. I say this is the only place in Jammu and Kashmir where the police can make something for the martyrs. But this ground is for the people to play,” she told reporters during her visit to the Tabela ground in Chattabal.
Urging the Director General of Police to intervene, she added, “Let this ground remain for our young boys and girls, our women, our mothers, and our children. They walk here, play here, and even get married here. If you take over this ground, it will create conflict between the police and the people, which is not good. The police are here to protect us, not to take away the only open space for the community.”
Mufti stressed that depriving youth of such spaces could deepen existing crises. “There is already a lot of drug addiction, unemployment, and frustration among our youth. Please allow them to at least play on these grounds. If the Army helps in improving these grounds instead of fencing them off, it will bring people together rather than creating divisions,” she said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
