Three years on, this central Kashmir town still awaits a sports stadium

By Mir Rameez Raja —

Ganderbal: For the last three years, Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council has been unable to complete the construction of a stadium in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

 The fate of the proposed sports stadium to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1.10 crore at Beehama continues to hang in the balance since 2018 after over 32 kanals of land was leased out to JKSC for the project.

 Local players said that among the steps needed to be taken for development of the stadium were: maintaining proper ground level, completing the construction of the pavillion, power supply for floodlights, and fencing.

 None of the works have been completed, they said.

 Aqib Para, a senior cricketer of Beehama told The Kashmir Monitor that lack of a proper sports stadium meant players like him had to travel long distances to find a proper venue for a match.

 “I had to travel 20-30 kilometres from here to play cricket as our town lacks a proper stadium. It reflects how non-serious the concerned officials are,” he said.

 The work was expected to be fully completed by the end of 2019.

 The deadline was extended by three more months, and missed again. 

 “We have completed almost half of the work, but now the government has disallowed us to fetch filling material from the designated spots,” said Tajamul Ahmad, the contractor supposed to construct the stadium.

 Mohammad Akram, JE Sports Council, and in-charge of the project, claimed the work was halted “due to non-availability of constructional material”.

 “We will sort it out soon and the stadium will be completed within a month or two,” he said.