To divert the attention of juveniles,so as to prevent them from taking to crime,the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is planning to construct 18 playfields in crime prone areas across the city. Parks have been identified for the purpose,and work on the project has already begun. The land agency said the playfields will be ready by December this year. The fields will be handed over to the Delhi Police,who then take the responsibility for maintaining them. We want to bring down the crime rate among juveniles. It has been decided that,as a preventive measure,playfields should be developed into big parks. This is being done to channel their energy away from crime. The Lieutenant-Governors office has directed the DDA and Delhi Police to identify and develop playfields for children near slum settlements, said a DDA official. Earlier,the Delhi Police was asked to identify parks from each range. According to the DDA,they will fence the fields and create infrastructure for different sports. Fields have been identified around unauthorised colonies,JJ clusters and similar areas. We have already started the tendering process for fencing some of the fields. The playfields are located in areas such as Jahangirpuri,Usmanpur,Welcome Colony,Rohini-12,15,16,Anand Vihar,Krishna Nagar,Jasola village,Harijan Basti,Rangpuri,Naseerpur village and Priya Complex, said a DDA official. The Delhi Police said that this move would not only help prevent crime among the youth but also provide them with an opportunity to take up sporting activities. It is necessary to gainfully engage the minds of young children. With these playfields,we hope to provide them with an opportunity to take up a sport of their liking. This will also help develop more sportspersons in the country, said a Delhi Police officer. Six of the 24 playfields identified earlier were privately owned. We will focus on sports such as volleyball and football. Once the fields have been developed,they will be handed over to the Delhi Police. We have set December 31 as the deadline for developing these fields, said a DDA official. The land agency is also planning to construct two football stadiums in the city. One of the football stadiums will be constructed in Dwarka,Sector-19. This football stadium will also have three playfields around it. The land for the stadium is spread over 34 acres,and the stadium will be able to accommodate 5,000 people at one time. The other football stadium will be constructed in the Trans-Yamuna area, said an official.
