Rajesh Dhar
JAMMU, July 3: Maulana Azad (MA) Stadium, Jammu, is a multiple purpose sports complex for holding sports and allied activities. Apart from various sports activities being conducted in it, the stadium is used for organizing political functions and also celebrating festivals like Independence Day et el in its premises.
However, what dismays one is the fact that the accommodation available within the premises of the stadium is not being used by the sportspersons, but by the accessible people for residential purposes, leaving sportsmen in the lurch and making sports and games to suffer.
The stadium has around 60 rooms, meant for sportspersons, but a sorry state of affairs is that these rooms instead of being used by them are being used by accessible persons, which leave them in bad shape and in a deteriorated condition.
Rather than hiring hotels and ‘dhams’ on high rates, it would be a great option for the organizers responsible for holding national level events in this region of the State, to accommodate the participating contingents from various states in these rooms. This would serve a twin purpose—firstly, it would lessen the burden on the State exchequer by not wasting money on accommodation and transportation of the players during national level events—secondly, it would serve the players to save their energy and time by not shuttling from hotels to stadium and would leave them in better frame of mind during the competitions.
“The money spent on hiring hotels for accommodation during national events could simply be used for renovating the available rooms in the stadium, to establish a permanent infrastructure for boarding and lodging purposes”, said a coach while explaining the merits of proper use of these rooms.
These rooms can accommodate at least around 300 players at a time, which means that the participants of a specific national level event can be accommodated easily, so no need to hire hotels or hostels, the coach added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the MA Stadium site is most conducive for sportspersons with regard to the availability of facilities. Apart from water and electricity facilities, there is a road for running & jogging. The greenery all around is its another USP.
For that matter, the Government, which is committed to promote sports and games in the State, should take initiatives with regard to renovation of this available infrastructure. The step will surely save State exchequer and help in promoting sports infrastructure in the State.
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