PAU playfields left in ruins following Diljit's concert, repairs still pending

Over a month and a half has passed since the football grounds at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) were damaged during Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh’s concert, but the playfields remain unrepaired, leaving students and sports enthusiasts without proper facility for recreation and competition.

The concert, held on December 31, attracted a large crowd, but the event’s organisers failed to take adequate precautions to protect the grounds. As a result, the football fields were substantially damaged, including torn turf, compacted soil, potholes and a rutted surface.

Despite repeated assurances from event organisers and university officials, no repairs have been made, leaving students, faculty and local sports enthusiasts disappointed. These grounds are vital for daily sports activities and their condition is crucial for maintaining physical fitness and competitive events.

The neglect of the PAU sports facilities underscores the need for better planning, coordination and communication among event organisers, university authorities and local stakeholders. It also highlights the importance of prioritising the upkeep and maintenance of such facilities to ensure these remain safe and accessible to all users.

As the academic year progresses, it is essential that the damaged football fields are restored to their original condition. This will not only benefit the university community but also contribute to the promotion of sports development and healthy lifestyles among young people.

The use of heavy vehicles to load and unload concert material was the primary cause of the damage. The football grounds were used as a staging area for the concert, with trucks and equipment driven repeatedly onto the fields to deliver and remove stage infrastructure, sound systems and other concert paraphernalia. This caused severe soil compaction, rendering the surface uneven and hard. Experts have indicated that repairs could take several weeks to restore the fields to a usable condition.

In the aftermath of the concert, sports administrators and enthusiasts voiced concerns over the damage. They noted that playgrounds require significant resources to maintain and such events should be better managed to avoid causing long-term harm to sports facilities.

Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary general secretary of the Punjab Basketball Association, along with Col Jasjit Singh Gill, a former PAU student, and Apminder Singh Brar, a retired professor from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), expressed disappointment over the state of the grounds. They stressed that the damage to the two grounds seemed irreparable, tarnishing the reputation of PAU and the local sports community.

“Playgrounds were prepared after a lot of hardship, and it was necessary to take precautions when hosting non-sporting events to prevent damage,” they said. “This includes using alternative routes for heavy vehicles, laying down protective coverings and ensuring the ground is restored to its original condition after the event.”

While cultural events such as concerts and festivals play an important role in promoting arts and culture, the group emphasised that such events should be hosted at designated venues, such as auditoriums, stadiums, or temporary event spaces and not on active sports fields.

They recommended the development of a comprehensive maintenance plan for sports facilities and called for specific areas to be designated for concerts and event staging to prevent further damage to playgrounds.