17 years on, another bid to set the ball rolling for Jalandhar's sports hub
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is making yet another effort to revive the long-awaited sports hub at Jalandhar's Burlton Park, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal set to lay the foundation stone of the project on June 11.
The project, which has remained in limbo for 17 long years, is now estimated to cost ₹77.77-crore.
Facilities for outdoor & indoor games
The sports hub, which is to come up on 60 acres, will include outdoor sports facilities such as cricket stadium, astroturf hockey ground and seven-side football ground (natural grass), each with separate pavilion areas. It will also have indoor sports facilities for multiple disciplines including yoga, skating, cycling and jogging.
In limbo since 2008
The project was first floated by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in 2008. In 2016, the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs announced that Jalandhar will be developed as a Smart City, with the sports hub set to be one of the key projects. In 2022, just before the state assembly elections, the then Congress government had awarded the project's tender to a Chandigarh-based firm, with a completion deadline of 12 months, but it only managed to construct the boundary wall. A sum of ₹1.13-crore was also released to the company after which the MC terminated the tender.
Jalandhar mayor Vaneet Dhir said the municipal corporation has re-allotted the tenders to the same company, which was assigned the project earlier. 'The project had been hanging fire due to lack of political and administrative will because of which contractors were also reluctant to work on it. In the last four months, multiple meetings were held with contractors, who were ensured that all the required logistics will be provided for the completion of the project,' said Dhir.
Former AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, who is presently with the BJP, said it appears to be a 'gimmick' to score brownie points.
'Both Mann and Kejriwal had promised the revive the project while campaigning for me during the 2023 Jalandhar bypoll. Exactly two years on, they are doing a formality of initiating the project,' said Rinku.
He also questioned why the tender was awarded to the same company, 'which had left the project mid-way'.
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