By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: The non-completion of sports ground at Nowshera village of Srigufwara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district for last over a decade has left hundreds of youth to suffer and also puts question mark over the claims of authorities.
The ground to the village was sanctioned way back in 2004-2005 during PDP-Congress rule in Jammu and Kashmir following the demand of youth of the area.
A year later, work on the ground was started and bulldozers were pressed into service for digging and leveling of the ground. As the work on the ground was going on with a pace initially, sports loving youth of the whole area were jubilant, hoping that the construction of the ground with good facilities will promote the cricket in the area.
However, 17 years later, the cricket ground remains incomplete, forcing hundreds of local cricketers to travel miles to play cricket in Anantnag or Bijbehara grounds.
Scores of local cricketers, who spoke to Precious Kashmir, said that crores of rupees were spent on the ground during last nearly two decades but it continues to remain incomplete till yet.
The executing agency constructing the ground has failed to make turfs and outfield of the ground in all these years despite spending huge amount of money so far.
“The condition of the ground is such that everyone is afraid to play in the ground due to its rough surface. Even if some local children play Cosco ball cricket in the ground, the huge volumes of dust emanate from the ground,” a local cricketer, Farooq Ahmad said.
Another local resident said that they have failed to understand, who is actually constructing the ground.
“We are seeing the contractors for the construction of the ground changing every year. They come and do some little work and then disappear for a year or two,” he said.
During last several years, the locals said, the authorities only fenced two sides of the ground while two other sides are still without fencing.
“Work on the changing room was started two years ago, which is still at the plinth level,” the locals said.
Fed up with the delay in the completion of the ground, though some local cricket loving youth a couple years ago had brought the soil and hired roller for making turfs out of their own pockets but later when the turf was damaged again they also gave up.
“On one hand, the authorities making tall claims about the promotion of sports but irony is that they have failed to complete the construction of the cricket ground sanctioned 15 years ago,” locals rued.
