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 the first, second and third part from here. Published today The fourth episode.
Of the 25 stadiums of the second phase that have already been officially inaugurated, one is in Tentulia upazila of Panchagarh district of Rangpur division. Even though the stadium has been inaugurated, there is still work to be done. Because of that, the National Sports Council could not explain this stadium to the local upazila sports organization.
Tentulia Upazila Sports Association General Secretary Kazi Mahmudur Rahman Dabul said, ‘The stadium was inaugurated a few days ago. But there is still more work to be done. The stadium of our upazila is the second phase of the project. Because of that, the building is two storeyed. There are two galleries on opposite sides of the building. Maybe a hundred and five spectators can sit in the gallery and watch the game.’
The building has a balcony. RCC bench will be in front. But the work is not over yet. There are office rooms, dressing rooms, toilets on the ground floor of the building. However, this upazila sports organizer has not yet seen the facilities on the second floor, ‘Actually, the stadium is next to my house. There was no going up to see what was happening on the second floor. So I don’t know how many rooms there are and what is being done’- said Mahmudur Rahman D.
Before the construction of the stadium, there were mango and litchi gardens here. After the trees died, local boys and girls used to play here. Now that tree has been cleared and the stadium has been built. “The field is not yet ready to play. Water accumulates in the rain. Soil should be thrown. We mostly play handball here. Most of the players of the national women’s handball team are from our upazila. Now there is a lot of girls volleyball. Next to Kazi Sahabuddin Girls High School and College. College girls also play here’-said the General Secretary of Upazila Sports Association.
It is one of the mini stadiums in Phase II. The infrastructure is better than the first phase. Therefore, the maintenance of this stadium will be more difficult. How to do? In response, the General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association said, ‘I don’t know how it will happen. Water-electricity connection has not yet been provided. Don’t even know if there will be a maintenance allocation. Because, this stadium has not been explained to us yet.’
When asked whether the field has been narrowed due to the construction of the building, he said, ‘It has not. Because the field here is already big. There are 7 unions in the upazila. The stadium is well positioned. Stadium on one side of the road, college on the other side. It looks very beautiful.’
The building work is not good, the room is small, water accumulates in the field
The General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association complained that the work of the Sheikh Russell Mini Stadium built in Sadar Upazila of Barguna District of Barisal Division was not good. Rafiqul Islam. He said, ‘fields were already made by filling the upazila area. But the reform was not done. Because of that, water accumulates here only when it rains.’
There are now about 10 of the RCC benches that were built by the National Sports Council in front of the stadium building. ‘Some benches were broken during the renovation of the pond on the south side of the field. Now there are like 8-10. In the meantime, we have applied to the National Sports Council for reform’-said Md. Rafiqul Islam.
The atmosphere here is not good after evening. Drug addicts hang out. The General Secretary of Upazila Sports Association said, ‘Drug addicts hang out here after evening. However, the muezzin of the upazila model mosque lives here. So he closed the gate at night. When there is sports, he is in another place. There is solar power. But there is not much light. In other words, the field is dark at night.’
Football is mostly played in this stadium. Football has goalposts. Boys and girls play. Bangabandhu and Bangamata played football. Badminton and cricket are also played. There is a primary school next door. School children also play sports here. There is also a big pond next to it. The General Secretary of Upazila Sports Association said, ‘Sports were always played in this field. Now the building has benefited. can sit Children can wash their hands after playing. There is a fan in the office. There is also water supply.’
Not in the right place, most of the unions are far away
Among the 59 upazilas of Khulna division, mini stadiums were constructed in 17 in the first phase. One of these is in Asashuni upazila of Satkhira district. However, this stadium was not in a suitable place in the upazila. Most of the unions have moved away due to the construction of the last boundary of the upazila. So everyone in the upazila is not able to use this sports stadium equally.
Asashuni Upazila Sports Association general secretary SM Salim Reza said, ‘The stadium is near the boundary of another upazila Paikgacha. There was a field here before. But the transportation system here was not good. The whole way had to be done on foot. Now you can park your car on the main road and walk for 5-10 minutes to the stadium. That path needs to be filled.’
The problem here is that the field has become quite small due to the construction. ‘There is a pond on the eastern side of the field. On the other side are the houses of the village. Before the size of the field was correct. Now the amount is reduced due to building. An office room, two toilets, two dressing rooms have been made in this building. Fan, water line and motor for water are installed. RCC Benches are also provided. As the stadium is in a corner of Upejla, only one union (Dargapur) plays sports here. I think, upejla was not chosen the right place to build the stadium. There are 11 unions in our upazila. The remaining 10 ties are away.
The upazila sports organization has to depend on the local people for the maintenance of this field. ‘As this stadium is in the village, those who play sports do not have to use the building much. So most of the time it is locked. When the tournament is open. At that time, it was cleared with the help of money from the local chairman. The field is dark at night. Some boys sit and chat at night. But there is no anti-social act. I made a budget of the money required for maintenance and gave it to UNO. He gave the local MP. Let’s see what happens’-said the General Secretary of the Upazila Sports Association.
