Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the construction of open mini stadiums in every upazila of the country with the thought of bringing the youth away from the path of drugs to the playground. As promised by the head of government, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Council have created a project titled ‘Construction of Sheikh Russell Mini Stadium at Upazila Level’ and are implementing it in 4 phases. Meanwhile, the construction of 125 mini stadiums in the first phase has been completed. The second phase of the project is underway. 25 stadiums of the second phase have already been inaugurated.
The official image of the implementation of the Sheikh Russell Mini Stadium project does not match the reality to a large extent. Somewhere the field is made; But that field is not suitable for playing, there is no maintenance anywhere. Somewhere the field is occupied by shepherds, there is no place to play. All the structures that have been constructed for the mini stadium are also in a deplorable condition.
Jagonews has inquired about this mini stadium project implemented across the country. They are presented to the readers in sequence. Read part one and part two from here. Published today The third episode.
Among the 41 upazilas of Sylhet division, the construction of Sheikh Russell Mini Stadium has been completed in 8. The mini stadium of Chatak Upazila of Sunamganj district has been built on the municipal ground.
General Secretary of Upazila Sports Association Syed Md. Lal Mia said, this field is two hundred years old. There was a big field. Now it is slowly shrinking. There is also a canal next to it.
At one time it was possible to play football in teams of 11 people. Now a team of 9 people can play as the field has become smaller. There is no place to stand. But the one-story building is outside the field. About 30 feet away. So the field is no longer small because of the building.
That’s right, having a mini stadium here has benefited the boys and girls to play. Bangabandhu and Bangamata Gold Cup football matches are played here. Children play here from morning till evening.
‘The roof of the building that has been constructed has just started leaking water. The water falls through the pipe into a room. There is an office. There are two dressing rooms and six toilets in this building. As the water falls, the building has to be renovated again. UNO sir knows. He said, he will take measures to do it’-said the General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association.
Like other stadiums, the big problem here is maintenance. “There are a lot of spectators when we play here. Due to which a lot of garbage accumulates when a match is held. We arrange to clean them with municipal and upazila sweepers. And there is no security at night. There is no guard. There was a guard at the beginning he left. As there is no allocation of the national sports council for the guard, it is not possible to keep it permanently’-said Syed Md. red mia
At night, the field is covered in darkness, so drug addicts hang out here. The General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association said, ‘Even though the building is locked at night, the field is open. So when the boys and girls come to play in the morning, they find empty bottles of alcohol everywhere. Boys and girls have to start playing after cleaning bottles and other rubbish. Apart from this, another problem is political. There are two groups of Awami League. Each group holds public meetings at different times. Holes in the field. But that doesn’t fix it.’
There is no RCC bench, plastic chairs are provided
The General Secretary of Nilphamari Sadar Upazila Sports Association of Rangpur Division spoke about the need for a full-time man to look after the stadium and some money for maintenance. Abdul Mannan too.
Referring to the field where the Sheikh Russell mini stadium has been constructed as the biggest field in Nilphamari district, the sports organizer said, ‘The mini stadium has been constructed on a part of this field. The ground is adjacent to the District Commissioner’s residence. A few sweeper families used to live here. The atmosphere has changed after the single-storey building here. Sports are now more common here. Before there were some nasty chats. They are no more. At night there are lights on the field. The building is locked when not in play.’
RCC bench has not been constructed in front of this stadium building. ‘We don’t have a bench here. But there are 200 plastic chairs. The building has an office, two dressing rooms with toilets for boys and girls and another toilet outside. One of those who practice here is responsible for locking the building at night. National resources could be better protected if a man was appointed. The annual allocation we get from the National Sports Council and we spend on the maintenance of the stadium on our own initiative – said the General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association.
The general secretary of the upazila sports association said, “There are various sports including football, kabaddi, volleyball, badminton and so on. Children from neighboring schools also come here to play. Players are being made from here.’
