11 years on, fate of proposed stadium at Bajalta uncertain

Vikas Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 10

Eleven years on, the fate of the proposed international stadium at Bajalta continues to hang in balance.

From 2005 to till date, the work of constructing the international stadium at Bajalta, on the outskirts of Jammu city, has yet to see the light of day. The 500 kanals of land, which was handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) by the state government way back in 2005, has now turned into an open grazing field for cattle as not even the fencing of the identified land has been done by the scam-ridden state cricket body.

Pertinently, the foundation stone of the project was scheduled to be laid on March 18, 2012, and all requisite arrangements were made with regard to its ceremony, but due to alleged confusion in the state cricket body, the ceremony was cancelled and it triggered a blame game.

The seriousness of the state cricket board to construct the dream project can be gauged from the fact that the road leading to the proposed site of the stadium is full of big potholes. Not even a single signboard has been placed on the way/roadside for convenience of those who want to visit the land.

“Cattle of local residents and nomads can be seen grazing in the fields of the stadium as those at the helm of affairs are only interested in making big announcements to remain in the news for getting publicity. They hardly care for the sentiments of thousands of cricket lovers and budding players of the state for whom the international stadium is like anything,” said a local resident.

He claimed that JKCA office-bearers had inspected the Bajalta land on June 28, 2011, and announced that work would resume after the monsoon was over and the stadium would be ready in 18 months.

Sources said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had made it clear that no more funds would be released to the state cricket body for the construction of international stadium until the multi-crore scam was thoroughly probed by the CBI within six months as directed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The case was given to the CBI in September 2015 and it has been six months since. The scam came to light in 2012 wherein it was found that funds for the welfare of the game were diverted towards bogus accounts of some members of the JKCA.