Cricket stadium to come up in Kaza at Rs 8.5 crore cost
At concluding ceremony of Ice Hockey Spiti Cup, Lahaul-Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana announces Rs 3 lakh for purchase of equipment
A cricket stadium will be constructed at Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti district at a cost of Rs 8.50 crore to provide improved facilities to the local youth. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju had laid the foundation stone of a world-class stadium in Kaza and its construction would begin soon, said Lahaul and Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana at the closing ceremony of the five-day Ice Hockey Spiti Cup at Kaza on Wednesday. She lauded the efforts of the Ice Hockey Association-Spiti for successfully organising the tournament and promoting winter sports in the tribal district.
Anuradha said that ice skating activities had been regularly organised in Kaza for the past six years while the Ice Hockey Spiti Cup had been conducted for the past two years. All four zones of the Spiti valley — Tod, Centre, Sham and Pin — with men’s and women’s teams and Under-18 boys and girls competed in the tournament. Teams from Shimla, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts also took part in the competition. In total, more than 270 players participated.
She said that the players selected from the tournament would get opportunities to compete at the national and international levels. She emphasised the importance of such sporting events and said that organising such events not only boosted the interest of the youth in ice-hockey and other winter sports but also provided a valuable platform for the young talent in the district.
The MLA said that the children and the youth of Lahaul and Spiti had brought laurels to the district, state and the country by excelling in ice hockey and other sports. She added that adventure sports like ice hockey offered young athletes a chance to showcase their talent while also serving as a source of healthy entertainment for local residents and tourists. The growing popularity of such events was contributing to an increased tourist inflow to Spiti, thereby generating employment opportunities for the local unemployed youth.
Anuradha said that the state government was making continuous efforts to promote sports in all districts, including Lahaul and Spiti, by allocating adequate funds for the construction of playgrounds and stadiums. She assured the gathering that more initiatives would be taken in the future to provide better sporting infrastructure and platforms for the youth.
To the demand of the Ice Hockey Association Spiti for Rs 10 lakh to purchase equipment, the MLA said that Rs 7 lakh had already been sanctioned and announced additional Rs 3 lakh to fulfil the requirement.
Besides, Anuradha said that to ensure uninterrupted power supply in Spiti, 66/22 KV substations would be established in Sumdo and Kaza. She performed the ceremonial pack drop and watched the men’s final match between Centre Zone and Sham Zone. She also gave away trophies to the winners and the runners-up of the tournament.
Earlier, SDM, Kaza, Dikshit Rana welcomed the chief guest and honoured her with a statue of Lord Buddha, a memento and a traditional ‘Thangka’ painting.
Among those present at the event were DSP Ajay Bhardwaj, TAC Member Veer Bhagat, former Panchayat Pradhan Sonam Dolma, former Zila Parishad member Punam, Royal Enfield in-charge Aditi, Chief Coach and Indian Ice Hockey Federation member Amit Belwal, officials from various departments, and members of the Ice Hockey Association Spiti.
