10-member panel to look after Nurpur stadium's functioning

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Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, December 8

The Sports and Youth Affairs Department had built an indoor stadium at a cost of Rs 5.99 crore at the Chogan Ground here. However, the fund-starved state government has now handed over its functioning and maintenance to a recently constituted 10-member sub-divisional committee. The committee is headed by the Nurpur SDM and comprises seven official members and two non-official members (chairman and president) of the Nurpur Sports Club. The official members are subdivisional-level officers of government departments. The district sports officer has been nominated as member secretary.

No coach appointed

• The state government, after dragging its feet in running this stadium, has failed to depute even a single coach before throwing it open for sportsmen. Sports enthusiasts have demanded requisite staff at the facility so that budding players can hone their skills.

The Nurpur SDM, after constituting the committee, on October 3 sought permission to run and maintain the indoor stadium from the DC-cum-President, District Sports Council, Kangra. The Director, Sports and Youth Affairs, granted the permission. Nurpur SDM-cum-chairman of the committee Gursimar Singh said the stadium was opened on Saturday last for sportspersons.

Surprisingly, the state government, after dragging its feet over the issue of running the stadium, has failed to post a coach before throwing it open for sportsmen. Sports lovers have demanded the appointment of coaches to hone the skills of budding players.

Previous CM Jai Ram Thakur had inaugurated the stadium on June 2 last year and it was named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but it remained locked for a long time. With the efforts of former Youth Affairs and Sports Minister and former MLA Rakesh Pathania, the previous government had built this pre-fabricated indoor stadium at a cost of Rs 5.99 crore through Ropeways Transport Development Corporation (RTDC). Apart from the indoor stadium, the RTDC is also laying a Rs 7-crore 400-metre synthetic track having six lanes.

After its inauguration, the Sports Department had organised the 43rd four-day Senior State Basket Championship in the stadium in August last year. After this, the national-level badminton championship was also held here. To run this indoor stadium, the Sports Department had requisitioned staff temporarily. The department had also initiated the process of fresh appointments. But, with the change of government in the state, the recruitment process has been shelved.