Dire need of sports stadium

The only international standard Dasharath Stadium has developed cracks and fissures, and is under renovation

‘Sports for healthy citizen’ is the slogan of the National Sports Council, the apex sports body of the nation. But the government has allocated just 0.25 percent of its annual budget for sports, which was revealed recently by secretary at the Youth and Sports Ministry Dipendra Nath Sharma. The figure speaks itself of the ‘development’ of Nepali sports at snail’s pace.

Out of the total budget allocated for sports, more that 70 percent of the amount is spent to pay the salary of the NSC staffers. Remaining amount is spent for conducting sports events, maintaining infrastructure and meeting day-to-day expenses. Sharma stressed on the need for allocating at least five percent of the annual budget for the development of sports as well as for achieving the slogan of the NSC.

The country’s only international standard Dasharath Stadium built more than four decades ago has developed cracks and fissures and is under renovation right now. The stadium was constructed from 1972-75. Though there have been construction of other stadiums at the regional level, none of them meet the basic standard as most of them are built in a haste to meet the requirements and expectations of the time period. For instance, the Dhangadhi stadium which came into operation three years ago during the sixth National Games wears a deserted look because of lack of events and is in danger of turning into a white elephant.
When the outspoken Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat was not in the government portfolio, he had made some bold statements about the requirement of sports infrastructure in the country but all his lofty remarks fizzled out once he assumed power.
Mahat had tweeted soon after Nepal qualified for the finals of the ICC World T20: “Now Nepal requires international level cricket stadium. Nepal could be the next Sharjah Stadium given the favorable climate conditions.”
Nepali squad was the only one among the 16 participating teams of the ICC World T20 which did not have a single international standard stadium.
Now, it would be a timely reminder to Finance Minister Mahat that he is prime position to initiate the budget required for infrastructure development of Nepali sports. The whole sports fraternity is aware that Nepal does not have a single international level cricket stadium despite the team proving its worth in the global stage, including the ICC World T20 a year ago in Bangladesh.
Though, the Finance Ministry allocated Rs 200 million for construction of Mulpani Stadium that began a decade ago, the construction works have taken pace only since the last couple of months in the current fiscal year. The amount is too small for construction of international level stadium.
Some critics say that the construction works have accelerated only to show the expenses bills with just a few months left before the current fiscal budget expires.
Not just cricket but all other sports disciplines are in pathetic situation, taking into consideration of the infrastructure. The infrastructure of most popular game of the country football is also in poor state. Since more than a decade, the ‘self-suspended’ All Nepal Football Association President Ganesh Thapa had time and again declared to construct a stadium in its own capacity, provided that the government offers land.
However, his plea has time and again fallen into deaf ears, although, all prime ministers have had committed to construct a new international level stadium after change every change of guard.
It is almost impossible to prove our worth at the international level in the absence of proper infrastructures. Since long, Nepali sports sector has struggled at the international level. Nepal has been counted among very few countries with least infrastructure in global sports meets.
According to sports analyst Sanjiv Mishra, who has been observing sports closely since more than a decade, there has not been real work in infrastructure development since 1950s and 1960s.
‘‘Besides ANFA setting up few technical centers, there has not been single work in infrastructure development which is worth mentioning,” he told Republica.
After the jam-packed turnover in the SAFF Championship held in September 2013, the construction of new stadium became a hot topic at the policy-making level. The political leaders expressed unanimous view that Nepal needs bigger capacity football stadium. But as soon as the tournament ended, the voice too dimmed out and now it has almost become an ‘irrelevant topic’ to discuss.
After years of negligence, the construction of international stadium, indoor cricket hall and at least a covered hall in each districts of the country have been included in the government’s current policy and programs. However, there still remains challenge to protect and upgraded old infrastructures along with construction of new ones.
The already existing regional stadiums – Birgunj, Nepalgunj, Biratnagar and Dhangadi – have largely been ignored. Sports could move into better track if already existing structures are renovated and upgraded as per the requirement.
The Narayani Stadium (Birgunj) constructed some four decade ago, and surrounded by parapet, is even bigger than the Dasharath Stadium and has the capacity to accommodate 15,000 spectators. The stadiums has not only hosted prestigious domestic events like National Games and some well known football tournaments in the past, but also international tournament like the AFC U-16 Qualifiers. But the stadium has not hosted a single big events after the Tej Bahadur Gold Cup in 2001. The stadium has been ignored since then and is in pathetic condition.
Due to lack of proper upkeep, the stadiums of Nepalgunj, Pokhara among others are also in poor condition. The stakeholders have not shown the eagerness to protect the existing structures.
Nearly, seven years ago Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the NSC member secretary under the CPN-UML quota, had initiated construction of central sports academy in Gauritar, Makwanpur, on 29 bighas of land. Then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had inaugurated the 2.5 billion mega project with plans to build all structures required to host all events of the South Asian Games. But the dream project remained unaccomplished as the new leadership did not give continuity to the project along with the change in the government leadership.
Lack of proper infrastructure is the major problem of the sports sector, which has lately hit the player production from city and densely populated areas.
The production of new players has been diminishing at a swift rate. In the past, abundance open space in the capital city had also facilitated the talent productions. But it now seems to be a myth due to unmanaged urbanization and lack of proper facilities.
Those not having access to district headquarters (infrastructure) have not even got opportunity to grow their sporting ability. Easy access to sports infrastructure and a conducive environment to play contribute to the production of more players. Such facilities shall also motivate players and coaches.
More and improved facilities will not only contribute in production of talents but also makes citizen healthier in long term. Because, it has already been a proven fact that countries with more stadiums and facilities to play has more healthier citizens than those with weaker infrastructures.
Twitter: @PrajwalOli