A great moment of hope and happiness for both the sportspersons and the sports lovers lay in the coming up of a state of art sports stadium, the first of such kind in the UT in Hiranagar. The stadium is expected to be built up at a cost of Rs.80 crore and its ”e-foundation” was laid on Sept 12 from New Delhi in which participation from New Delhi took place of Union Ministers, Kiran Rijiju and Dr.Jitendra Singh and from Srinagar that of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Once completed, this stadiumwas going to occupy its special niche in the sports infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir in that this stadium could easily accommodate 50,000 persons . Not only was the complex going to have all those prerequisites which a stadium of national level reckoning was required to possess but it is designed to fulfil all those requirements which a sports stadium was expected to have even at international levels.
Jammu and Kashmir , as we often reiterate, is having lot of sports talent but that vast potential was neither identified and encouraged nor groomed in order to enable Jammu and Kashmir register its due presence in national and international events. Lack of proper infrastructure which include facilities for the sportspersons to learn, practice and get proper training as also lesser initiatives and motivational incentives from the Government were responsible for the present state of affairs in the sports arena in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. For every sport, both Kashmir valley and the Jammu region provided excellent natural and climatic opportunities like moderate to extreme weather conditions of different seasons for playing different sports. It is worth mentioning that an amount of Rs.200 crore under PMDP for developing sports infrastructure has been sanctioned for Jammu and Kashmir by the Central Government. .The sports complex named after Late ArunJaitley , the former Union Finance Minister who was a lover of sports and for years together, encouraged sports and groomed many sports persons, the complex was designed to be a state of art complex providing all the facilities at one place for multiple sports and would fulfil all the requirements that an ultra modern complex of even international standardwould need. The complex would, thus, be a living tribute to Late Jaitley’s vast vision and enviable stature. In fact , demand for such a sports complex had been put before him during his last visit to the then State of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also to be seen that despite a temporary banon building such projects due to COVID pandemic conditions , the UT of Jammu and Kashmir has been exempted in so far as building this complex was concerned.
Not only would the vast area of Hiranagar and adjoining areas get vastly benefitted with this sports stadium but the entire UT of Jammu and Kashmir would by hosting regional, national and international sports events. It is worth noting that this complex is not only expected but designed to be one of the biggest sports premises in whole of the country. As empty trains running and passenger less aeroplanes flying carry no sense and would be wastage of resources, in the same way, such type of infrastructure must be and is required to be put to optimum use which means great efforts by the UT Sports Council and the UT Government to promote quality level sports.
Let all the aspects of its design, structure , lay out and building plan be meticulously taken care of at each stage of its construction and as Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has hoped that the engineers associated with the construction of this project would work with the required zeal , enthusiasm and dedication , it is expected that no compromise of any sort in respect of quality standards would be made . Once proper and pointed follow up and monitoring coupled with assured funds flow stage wise were in proper place, the project would not onlyadhere to the timeline but as such, save the project from any cost escalation. We can see the other aspect in its construction in that during the present economically strained days due to COVID pandemic, the project would afford opportunities of employment to many people during the construction period, both direct and indirect, and after getting raised up, local economic activities of tiny to small nature around the complex too would take place . So, side by side, its construction plans should be chalked out and the roadmap drawn as to how best the use of this complex was made by promoting sports and training and chiselling those with interest in sports into finest sportspersons.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel