BJP protests closure of stadium

Nurpur, September 27

BJP workers, led by Nurpur mandal president Jatinder Singh, held a protest here today against the closure of an indoor stadium at Chougan ground. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to Sports Minister Vikramaditya Singh, to the local SDM, demanding the reopening of the stadium within one month. Former CM Jai Ram Thakur had inaugurated it in June last year.

The BJP workers raised slogan and took out a rally from the Bachat Bhawan to the Mini Secretariat. A memorandum on the behalf of the local BJP unit was submitted to the Nurpur SDM for making the indoor stadium functional in the larger interest of local youths and sports lovers. They said that they would block the Pathankot-Mandi national highway at Jassur if the stadium was not reopened within a month.

The previous BJP government had got this pre-fabricated indoor stadium built at a cost of Rs 5.99 crore through the Ropeway Transport Development Corporation (RTDC) following the efforts of the then local MLA, Rakesh Pathania. Besides the stadium, the RTDC had also initiated work for laying a Rs 7-crore 400-metre synthetic track having six lanes. However, the Congress government immediately after assuming charge closed the functional indoor stadium and stalled the ongoing work for the construction of a Rs 3.40-crore shopping complex-cum-parking lot alongside the stadium. It also put the synthetic track project on the back burner.