Basketball tragedy: Congress to move ‘stop work’ motion on stadium neglect

The Congress will bring a ‘stop work’ motion in the upcoming winter session of the Vidhan Sabha to highlight the deteriorating condition of sports stadiums across Haryana.

This was stated by senior Congress leader and Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra, who visited the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium on Friday to assess the state of sports infrastructure following the tragic deaths of two minor basketball players. The players — one from Lakhan Majra village (Rohtak) and the other from Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar) — died after a basketball pole collapsed on them during practice.

Batra accused the BJP-led state government of repeatedly ignoring Rohtak’s development needs. “This magnificent sports stadium built by the then Hooda government is now in such a dilapidated condition that it is painful to see. Sports facilities in the stadium are in poor condition, toilets are rotten and broken, and there are overgrown bushes everywhere. In the evenings or early mornings, there is no lighting for players to practice,” he said.

He said although funds had been announced for upgrading the stadium, “not a single rupee had been spent yet.” The Congress would demand answers during the winter session, he said.

After inspecting the basketball court, Batra pointed out severe lapses. “The poles on the court are badly rusted and it is surrounded by overgrown bushes. The fibre mat laid on the court is torn badly. The benches made for players are broken. The synthetic track for running also has potholes and is severely damaged,” he said.

The MLA also noted the run-down condition of seating under the shed in the stadium’s main ground. “I have raised the deplorable condition of the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium prominently in almost every Assembly session. Last year, the Chief Minister himself visited the stadium, and soon after, in the Assembly session, I submitted photographs of the stadium’s poor condition to the government but nothing was done to improve the condition,” he said.

Calling the deaths of the two young players a preventable tragedy, Batra said strict action must be taken against those responsible. He asserted that the incident could have been avoided had the government acted in time.