Anantnag: Two indoor stadiums here in Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir are yet to be completed four years after they were sanctioned and two years after they missed the first deadline for completion.
The government, with an aim to engage youth in constructive and productive activities, had proposed and sanctioned two indoor stadia – one in Rajpora area of Pulwama district and another in Arhama area of Shopian district.
“These have been the two most severely hit districts in Kashmir as far as the ongoing violence in Kashmir valley is concerned. These stadiums were sanctioned and aimed at engaging the youth positively,” a source in the administration told Kashmir Reader.
He said that sports activities like basketball, badminton, chess, carom, snooker and other games were on the list of the authorities. “We wanted youth to come to these places and spend time in a more positive manner, helping in their overall development,” he said.
The projects, both estimated to be completed at a cost of 4 crore rupees, were handed over to Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC), Kashmir’s premier construction agency.
“After their sanctioning and commencement of work in 2017, the projects were expected to be completed within a two-year period,” the source told Kashmir Reader.
However, four years have passed since and both the projects remain incomplete. They are also yet to be handed over to the department of Youth Welfare and Sports.
The local youth, who had been quite excited about the development, now are a disappointed lot. “We thought we will finally get something to channelise our energies into, but it turns out that the government is not even serious about these projects,” a youth, Saqib Bhat, from Pulwama told Kashmir Reader.
He said that he has long crossed his teenage years and is in his twenties now with the extra burden of studies. “Even if the stadium is complete now, I won’t get the time to visit it. I am now way busier in my studies than I was two or three years ago,” Bhat said.
Other youths that Kashmir Reader talked to also had dampened spirits and were of the opinion that the stadiums might never be completed. “And even if they are completed, there will be nothing for us in there,” Rameez Ahmad, a resident of Shopian town, said.
Meanwhile the JKPCC is hopeful that the projects will be completed soon. “The Pulwama stadium is almost complete with only flooring to be done, tenders of which have already been allotted. The stadium, we expect, will be handed over to the sports authorities by end of March or by the first week of April,” Masood Ahmad Gangoo, the Deputy General Manager (DGM) of JKPCC, told Kashmir Reader.
He said that work on the Arhama stadium had to be put on a halt due to heavy snowfall this year in Shopian district. The work has now been resumed, he said.
“We hope that the Shopian stadium will also be completed by the end of May this year,” Gangoo said.

Suhail A Shah