First we hear that the much touted PA Sangma stadium with state of the art facilities in Tura has turned into an open bar with liquor bottles strewn around. While this says a lot about the people in that area and their love for sports or the lack of it, this also means that there are too few stakeholders in the stadium who are expected to be using it and therefore also taking responsibility for it. At least that is what the District Sports Office is expected to do when a sports infrastructure of such superior quality is bestowed on the people. Contrast this to what happened in Shillong. People of Meghalaya have a passion for football. Those who don’t play are the cheerleaders when their teams play. In 50 years the state capital does not even have a fully functioning stadium in the Third Ground where football is played all the time since the JN Stadium is out of bounds for local matches. How much would it have cost the State to construct spectators’ galleries so that people can watch a match with dignity? Not much if successive governments had the vision and commitment to promote Football which has attained the status of a State game. But if the State Governments could not care less the Sports Associations too are not far behind in their lackadaisical attitude.
Another point that has been made repeatedly is also the take-over of the iconic NSCA indoor stadium where many a shuttler was born and perhaps many could have been born in the future if the State had chosen to improve the infrastructure in that stadium that has stood the test of time. But the MDA Government is taking over that stadium and converting it into some bhavan as if it cannot find any other place. Sadly, in this state there are only murmurs and no protests for genuine public concerns. Hence Governments past and present feel they have the political heft to ride roughshod over public emotions. There are so many sportspersons and associations but we are yet to hear if they have petitioned the Government to spare that stadium – in fact to leave it alone and let those with a passion for Badminton and Table Tennis have their space. As it is there are so few places for leisure and recreation in this city and in the State as a whole. No wonder most youth spend their evenings in cars where they set up a bar of their own. Is this what the Government wants to promote?
