There are lot of grounds and stadiums in Kashmir which are still under developed. Pertinent to mention here that the developmental work for the under developed stadiums started in 2016-17 & due to political vendetta, the work on those grounds and stadiums is still a distant dream.
J&K Sports Council is the caretaker of almost all stadiums and grounds in Jammu and Kashmir. How do they organize programs without having a proper stadium and ground maintenance? Why most of the construction work is still ‘under construction’ despite the budget availability. How many of the infrastructure is ready for which the budget was allocated during the tenure of former governor Satyapal Malik.
Since I have been in the basketball game, I have never seen any improvement in any basketball court. The basketball rings at indoor stadium and joggers park are not upto the mark. There are other sports disciplines either suffering for the sake of infrastructure or for the maintenance. In 2020, a project worth over Rs 400 crore was under execution to upgrade the sports infrastructure in Jammu & Kashmir. This project was funded by Jammu and Kashmir infrastructure development finance corporation (JKIDFC) and was for upgrading the sports infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. If the government is doing funding, it is their responsibility to follow up the projects of infrastructure. They need to check whether the money they are funding for is spent on that project or is getting wasted by the non-callous approach of babus.
Meanwhile, the government’s focus should go on rural areas where lack of infrastructure and will of trainers to train youngsters is negligible. Until and unless the so especially in Jammu and Kashmir.
It is high time for the government to revisit these infrastructural projects and set a deadline for their completion. It is important that the government should also roll the positions of officers to lessen the chances of corruption. Otherwise, time is not far when Jammu and Kashmir won’t be able to produce quality sportspersons.
Let’s join hands to work for better sports and infrastructural facilities in Jammu and Kashmir.