Will Doaba regain its glory of sports hub?

Bawa Henry, Congress MLA from Jalandhar North, has set his sights firmly on increasing revenue from sports facilities in the city.

He says that the cricket stadiums, like the Burlton Park, need to come up with some sort of an understanding with the BCCI to ensure that revenue starts flowing into the game.

“There should be an MoU signed with the cricket board which will ensure money comes back into the sport. This money then can be used for improving the infrastructure not only in Burlton Park but also in other cricket stadiums in the city,” said Bawa Henry.

As an alternative, he says, the stadium should be handed over to the BCCI which then would be responsible for its upkeep.

“There are other alternatives too. But then all stakeholders will have to come together to work out a solution to ensure revenue generation. I am also working to ensure how facilities will be improved at the AstroTurf. After all Jalandhar was known as a world class hockey centre not long ago. We should not let it fall from that pedestal,” he said.

Sushil Rinku, Congress MLA Jalandhar West, said the need of the hour for a developing city like Jalandhar is to have a multi-discipline sports centre. “Earlier, we used to have a cricket stadium and an AstroTurf. The city was not that populous as it has now become. We need a sports centre, on the lines we have in metropolitan cities, where a variety of sports can be practised,” he said.

Rinku is also worried about the sports goods manufacturing industry.

“We have some problems relating to VAT and other taxes. I have called a meeting of all stakeholders soon where these problems will be sorted out. The setting up of the multi-discipline sports centre will also be discussed in the meeting,” he added.

The three- time Olympian Pargat Singh says that more grounds are needed which, in turn, will mean more participation of youngsters in sports. “The infrastructure is ok. But we need more grounds. India is a young country and more and more youngsters want to involve themselves in games. Even in a city like Jalandhar, there is a shortage of grounds. I have taken up the issue with the government. A committee needs to be set up which will identify vacant stretches of land near cities which can be later developed into playgrounds,” said Pargat.

Pawan Tinu, SAD MLA from Adampur, who has a sports background, said more football academies on the lines of the Dashmesh Football Academy, Adampur, should be established to nurture young talent.

“My experience is that more such ventures should come up. We should pay for the education of youngsters. One of the youngsters of Dashmesh Academy has donned India colours in the India (U-17) football team. We took care of his education and other expenses. Likewise, if the education of a young player is taken care of he is bound to perform well in domestic and international tournaments,” said Tinu.

Congress MLA Rajinder Beri from Jalandhar Central said the city had demanded Rs 100 crore to develop the Burlton park facility.

“But the money has not come up till date due to which the sports development has been suspended from the past few months. We wanted to utilise the funds on the improvement of stadiums and also to develop sports infrastructure in various city areas.” he said.