Senbag Stadium turns into grazing ground for lack of oversight
Upazila Krira Sangstha seeks allocation from the government to renovate the facility built at a cost of several cores taka and make it suitable for sports
Some are cutting grass in one corner, some are drying fishing nets in the sun. In a small part in the middle, some teenagers are playing with balls and bats. Apart from this, as far as the eye can see, there is grass all around, growing in some places knee high. There are snakes and venomous insects like scorpions inside the bushes.
This is how Shaheed Tarik Ullah Bir Bikram Stadium, built in 2004 at a cost of several crores taka in Senbag upazila of Noakhali, looks like.
Locals blame the negligence of the authorities concerned for the sorry state of the stadium. Due to lack of proper supervision and care, the playground has already become a safe house for drug addicts, grazing land for cattle, they said.
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In a recent visit, every part of the inside and outside of the stadium was found in a decrepit state. Two galleries with a capacity of 5,000 people are in bad shape. The commentary box and office room are also in the same state.
Senbag Krira Sanstha says there has been no renovation work since the inauguration of the stadium in 2007. As there is no government allocation, people involved in the sports organisaiton have to bear all the expenses from their own funds.
"At present, Tk80,000 electricity bill has remained unpaid. Moreover, we have to pay the land development tax Tk50,000 per annum to the land office, the current arrears of which is around Tk1.5 lakh. We need allocation from the government to make the stadium suitable for sports," Senbag Krira Sangstha General Secretary Saiful Islam Babu said.
Under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a stadium was established on 10.30 acres of land at Kabilpur union at the upazila with a view to creating new players from here. Later, the facility was renamed "Shaheed Tarik UllahBirBikram Stadium". Since its inauguration, the stadium has hosted two big tournaments—Chairman Gold Cup in 2008 and Bangabandhu Football Tournament in 2012.
In between the two events, some winter games and school-level matches have also been arranged there. Since 2013, all kinds of sports have remained halted here, leaving the inside of the big infrastructure to turn into a grazing land.
Ahsan Hahib, a local, said the stadium has now turned into the hangout of drug addicts. At night, foxes, snakes are roaming there. Before the construction of the stadium, there was agricultural land where hundreds of mound paddy were produced.
The number of drug addicts is growing here every day. When protested, outsiders and drug addicts are giving me life threats, Stadium caretaker Deen Mohammad alleged.
Yusuf, a former player, said, "Several players including Akhter, Selim and Noresh have played in the divisional level from the upazila. Despite having a stadium for creating players from the upazila, we failed to utilise the opportunity as the facility is not suitable for playing due to lack of proper supervision."
At present, children, teenagers and students become addicted to mobile phones, drugs and getting involved in various crimes thanks to being deprived of the opportunity to play sports, he added.
He demanded quick renovation of the stadium to create quality players from the area in future.
Some days ago, Senbag Krira Sangstha's ongoing committee had dome painting outside the stadium, including its entrance. But the condition of the stadium inside remains unchanged.
Saiful Islam Babu, general secretary of Krira Sangstha, said even if the stadium is built on paddy fields, its ground goes under knee-deep water during the rainy season, and later it turns into a cattle grazing area.
It is necessary to make the stadium suitable for playing as soon as possible to keep local youths away from drugs and mobile addiction, he added.
