After the foundation of the Arun Jaitley Memorial Sports Complex was laid out in Hiranagar of Kathua district on September 12, locals thanked the Central government for the gift and expressed hope that the new facility will help the youth shine in the field of sports. While talking to ANI, Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, said the administration will use this facility as a nucleus to develop other sports facilities around it.

“This is a big gift to Kathua district. The cost of the stadium is Rs 60 cores and we hope that it will increase. The facility, which is dedicated to the sports activities will be utilised by locals and help them shine in the field. Completion of state and national level activities will be organised and hopefully, some facilities will also be used at the international level in future. We will treat it as a nucleus and develop all the facilities around it,” said Verma. The local administration praised the move of the government and hoped that the stadium will help the youth move away from the increasing problem of drug use in the border area and motivate them to make a name in the field of sports.

“This stadium will be located in the border area it will help the youth get away from the problem of drug usage that is increasing here. They will get motivated to take up sports,” said Naresh Sharma, President of Municipal Corporation of Kathua. Residents of the area also appreciated the moves and said that it will motivate local sportspersons to shine on the national and international level.

“This is a very big gift to us by the central government. You’ll see that many great players in various sports will come from this place in future. Till now the youth of here was deprived of the proper infrastructure, but now they’ll shine at not just national but international level,” said Akshay Bharti, a local. Another resident of the area Rajinder Bakshi also thanked the government for the move and said it will help the youth stay away from the increasing problem of drug use in the area.

“Till now our youth only played some 6-7 kinds of sports. This new facility will offer some 20-25 types of sports. Our children will play more sports and stay away from the problem of drugs,” he said. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha along with Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh and Union Minister of Youth and Sports, Kiren Rijiju jointly laid the e-foundation stone of Arun Jaitley Memorial Sports Complex, Hiranagar in Kathua district on September 12.

“The upcoming Rs 58.23 crore mega-sports complex is going to be spread over 270 kanals of land, being undertaken under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) and it will go a long way in accentuating the overall Sports Infrastructure in the Union Territory,” read a release from LG office. “It is pertinent to mention that the Arun Jaitley Memorial Sports Complex will have a state-of-the-art synthetic athletic track, Synthetic Hockey Field, Synthetic Turf Football Ground, Multipurpose Hall, Swimming Pool, Cricket Ground, Skating Rink, Boxing Rink, tuck shops, and other basic amenities,” it added.

The State of the Art Sports Complex will have multiple sports facilities of international/national standards in one place. Falling in close vicinity of national highway 44, the project shall not only cater to the Hiranagar area but the whole of J-K and would be an important place for hosting national and international events. (ANI)