Sports lovers angry as cracker stalls damage Abohar stadium

With a number of cracker sellers putting up shops at the Nehru Stadium in Abohar,sports lovers are irked over the decision of Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav to allow these stalls here. The 108 temporary structures set up by the stall owners have spoiled the cricket pitch and damaged the basketball court,where state-level tournaments have taken place in the past.

Rajinder Girdhar,general secretary of Cricket Welfare Society of Abohar,said: “Last year,too,crackers stalls had been set up at the stadium. Members of the sports welfare organisations had to spend from their pockets for the repair work. The authorities did not spend a single penny and have now allowed the same thing to happen again.”

The stadium has been dug up at a few places while parking of vehicles has spoilt the grass.

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“This is hurting the sentiments of sports lovers,” said Girdhar. He added: “We had lodged our protest and had even given in writing to the DC to change the place of cracker stalls,but to no avail. There are so much of open space in the city to set up stalls.” The other places suggested were the local fair ground and colleges.

The DC,however,claimed that no damage had been done to the stadium. “It hardly matters if the stadium is used for two days to set up (cracker) stalls. It has enough open space for that,” he said.