Players accuse sports department of neglecting the ground, demand facilities

PAMPORE: Sportspersons and other youth from different areas of Saffron Town Pampore have criticised the Department of Youth Services and Sports for “failing” to maintain the Iqbal Stadium at Tanchibagh locality in Pulwama district.
The sportspersons while talking to Kashmir Reader said they have been moving from pillar to post for the last many years, “pleading” before authorities to take cognizance of water-logging in the stadium and address it but to no avail.
Mukhtar Ahmad Mir, a sportsperson from Pampore, said during the last couple of weeks, the ground came under water twice. “You can yourself see the condition of this ground; it is completely water-logged,” he said, adding that at this time it will be suitable for water sports and not cricket and football.
He said the local shopkeepers and youth are maintaining the ground. “The Youth Services and Sports holds events like Volleyball and Kabbadi on the ground three times a year,” he said, adding that they come here, play and leave behind huge piles of waste.
“They don’t pay heed to maintain it,” he said.
The Director YSS and Deputy Commissioner Pulwama should visit this ground to see its condition, the players said.
They came down heavily on the administration saying, “The government claims engaging youth to keep them away from drugs but those claims fall flat here.”
Amir Mohi-Ud-Din, another sportsperson, appealed to authorities to pay attention to maintaining the ground. He said the YSS Department constructed a Basketball court in the stadium when not many youths are interested in that game.
“They could have invested the amount on maintaining the ground and protecting it from frequent water-logging,” he said.
The sportspersons have appealed to authorities to take cognizance of the water-logging issue and plug other loopholes.
“This is an important and only playfield in Pampore used for cricket, football, volleyball and other outdoor games but it often gets submerged after a few hours of rain,” they said.
The sportspersons demanded the basic facilities on the ground including sitting arrangements, floodlights, leveling the ground and checking water logging by constructing a wall to prevent rainwater from entering the ground.
When contacted, District Sports Officer Pulwama, Jagdish Raj Sharma, said they will take up the demands in the new action plan for next year.

BILAL HABIB