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Playgrounds - a distant dream for city youth

LUDHIANA: Though a number of projects have been planned under the Ludhiana Smart City Mission, yet most areas have no playground.

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Harshraj Singh

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

LUDHIANA, DECEMBER 16

Though a number of projects have been planned under the Ludhiana Smart City Mission, yet most areas have no playground. Children are not allowed to play sports in parks. Children, teenagers and youngsters are forced to play in streets or vacant land reserved for proposed projects in the city.

A football ground at Punjab Mata Nagar on Pakhowal Road, where youngsters played sports a decade ago, has given way to an indoor stadium. The Rs 85-crore stadium is not used for daily sports activities.

Narinder (16) played cricket with his friends at a vacant piece of land reserved for Atal Apartments at Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar as there is no playground available near their house. Like him, a number of children and youngsters come to play various sports on the same land. Some diabetics, who regularly come there for slow running, said where they would go when any construction took place at the site.

Children also play on government land in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar that was earlier encroached on by slum-dwellers.

Unfortunately, several other vacant pieces of government land where children used to play, have been turned into garbage dumps. Recently, residents of Dhandari Khurd opposed using a vacant piece of land as garbage dump as children played football there.

Several government schools here also have no playgrounds. “It is a big concern that there is a dire need to develop playgrounds for routine sports activities. Even my children use to play in streets. In school, their focus remains on studies due to board exams. But physical activities can’t be ignored,” said a parent.

Chairman of Indian Institute of Architects, Punjab Chapter, Sanjay Goyal said: “It is an important issue and needs attention as playgrounds are required in the city. As there is a shortage of space to set up playgrounds in various areas, I think the schools and colleges should allow people to use their playgrounds in the evening. Vacant land reserved for various projects should be converted into playgrounds on a temporary basis, instead of turning them into garbage dumps.”

“Sports activities are required for physical and mental development of children. As the role of sports can’t be ignored, the government must take necessary measures to encourage sports activities,” said a lecturer, Varinder Pathak.

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