Vidhan Sabha: Bhukkal raises concern over poor condition of sports stadiums in Jhajjar

Former Education Minister and local Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal while speaking at the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday highlighted the poor condition of the Swami Dayanand Saraswati Sports Stadium in Jhajjar and the lack of basic infrastructure and essential facilities at various stadiums across the district.

She said the stadiums, located in villages such as Birdhana, Bahu, Matanhail, Kablana, Koyalpur, Sarsoli, Kheri Hoshdarpur, and Jamalpur, were suffering from neglect, adversely impacting the training and development of local athletes.

During her address in the Vidhan Sabha, Bhukkal raised questions regarding the timeline for the improvement of the dilapidated boxing hall at the Swami Dayanand Saraswati Sports Stadium. She pointed out that the stadium was in desperate need of basic facilities, including proper equipment, track, toilets, drinking water and a proper drainage system.

Bhukkal emphasised that despite Jhajjar residents like Manu Bhaker and Aman Sehrawat bringing glory to the state and the nation by winning three medals at the Paris Olympics, the district continued to lack the necessary sports infrastructure. She expressed concern that the inadequate facilities were forcing budding athletes to seek training elsewhere.

The Congress MLA also said she had raised similar concerns in the  previous session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, where the state government had assured her that the condition of the stadiums would be improved. However, she claimed that these assurances were not fulfilled. Bhukkal urged the state government to fulfill its promises so that the local youth could hone their talents in their home district.

In response, Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam stated that a cost estimate of Rs 61.83 lakh for the maintenance and earth filling of Swami Dayanand Saraswati Sports Stadium was under consideration, with work set to begin once approved. He added that maintenance and painting work of the boxing hall had already been completed.

Gautam also mentioned that stadiums in Birdhana, Bahu, Koyalpur, Sarsoli, Kheri Hoshdarpur, and Jamalpur were at present being developed, and the Panchayat Department at present provided only basic facilities such as tracks and boundary walls. Further maintenance and new infrastructure work would be carried out by the Development and Panchayat Department or the respective gram panchayats.