Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 25: Because of callous attitude of Government towards fulfilling the promises made to general masses, a sports stadium announced in R S Pura three decades back to honour Siachen hero and living legend Captain Bana Singh, is yet to see the light of the day.
In the year 1988, the then President of India had awarded Paramvir Chakra to Sardar Bana Singh for his heroic contribution in Operation Rajiv to conquer the highest peak in the Siachen area. The peak was named as “Bana Post” in his honour. Following this, two former Cabinet Ministers of the erstwhile State Jammu and Kashmir had enthusiastically announced the stadium to honour this son of the soil.
During a mega function organized to honour PVC Sardar Bana Singh, then Cabinet Minister Er R S Chib along with then Sports Minister Harbans Singh had announced that a modernized sports stadium would be constructed and soon it will be fit for organizing State level sports activities in the heart of R S Pura town.
In 2010, R S Chib as then Minister for Youth Services and Sports, Medical and Technical Education, laid foundation stone for the development of Bana Singh Stadium and construction work for pavilion complex was started on April 20, 2010 in presence of then MLA R S Pura Professor Gharu Ram Bhagat. The project was allocated to Public Works Department but the agency stopped construction work just after completion of ground floor slab.
“Thirty years have passed since the announcement, but the stadium has not been completed so far. The Government should be ashamed of this mockery . “I am used to be invited in several official functions but no one talks about fulfillment of this announcement. It’s not for me but the youth who have been deprived from sports facilities,” rued Captain Bana Singh while talking to this scribe.
The Ground in-charge, Tarvinder Singh was clueless about the reason behind non completion of Pavilion and other associated works by the executing agency. He informed that the department had earlier installed nearly 10 lights, which have gone almost kaput while 12 more Mast lights have been recently installed inside the stadium by Small Scale Industries Developmental Corporation (SICOP), which are yet to be handed over to management of the JK Sports Council.
Another official informed that a new indoor hall has been constructed inside the stadium by the J&K Sports Council and the same is yet to be formally inaugurated.
In 2017, the Council started laying of RBM, Good earth filling at PVC Bana Singh Stadium with estimated cost of Rs 30 lakhs and its foundation stone was laid by local MLA Gagan Bhagat. However, the work was not completed with the result that the uneven plying ground has become a spot of water logging while fallen trees were still not lifted from the ground thus creating more obstacles in playing there.
The callousness on the part of Sports Council can be further gauged from the fact that because of no gate on entrance, the incomplete pavilion building has now become a shelter for stray animals, particularly during the night hours. The stray animals can be seen roaming here and there inside the stadium.
Even as sources informed that pending liability of local contractor, who carried out RBM and Good earth filling works of Rs 30 lakhs, is main impediment to complete the ongoing work, Executive Engineer of JK Sport Council, Joginder Paul claimed that there was no pending liability of the contractors. “He (Contractor) recently submitted all the bills of works and the same will be cleared soon besides completion of all pending works of filling as well as draining of water logging,” said the Xen and hoped that by the end of current financial year, the stadium would be thrown open for all types of games.
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