Hisar stadium flooded, practice sessions hit

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 13

Sportspersons in Hisar town are forced to take a break during the monsoon season, thanks to the negligent attitude of the district administration.

The Mahavir stadium, which is the only ground here where players can do practice for various sports events, remains waterlogged during the rainy season.

There are about 100 athletes of the town and adjoining villages who regularly practise in the stadium. Even though there is no synthetic running track here, which has been a long-pending demand of the players, the normal waterlogged running track becomes unfit for use every time it rains.

Sportspersons said they had no alternative ground to practise, so the rainy season literally comes as a break for them. “There are a number of sporting events in athletics. Players of all these sports, including sprint, long-running events and long jump, high jump, javelin, triple jump and other related events, visit the Mahavir stadium for practice,” said an official of the Sports department.

He said it had become routine for many years that the stadium’s ground gets inundated. The ground is located in a low-lying area and water from adjoining localities enters the stadium in the absence of a proper drainage system, the official added.

Ramesh Punia, a social activist who visited the stadium today, said he was surprised to see the waterlogged ground of the stadium. “It has virtually turned into a lake. Nobody can even recognise it as a sports ground. The condition of the ground reflected the utterly lackadaisical attitude of the local authorities,” he said, adding that about 2-3 feet water is standing in the ground. It’s unlikely that the ground would be ready for many days, he said, adding that even after the water is drained out, it remains slippery and poses a threat of injury to the players.

Punia said the poor condition of the stadium was, in fact, a blatant example of the lack of intent of the state government to promote sports in Haryana. “The sports community has been levelling allegations that the state government has neglected sportspersons and aims to discourage sports culture in Haryana. The poor level of infrastructure in the stadium is a clear example of this,” he said.

District Sports Officer Naresh Kumar said they had brought the matter to the notice of Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya. “The rainwater from the adjoining localities too enters the stadium which floods the ground as it’s in a low-lying area,” he said.