“SRINAGAR, AUGUST 24: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan today held a meeting of officers to review the physical and financial progress of sports infrastructure being developed in Jammu and Kashmir.The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary Youth Services and Sports, Alok Kumar, Director Youth Services and Sports Gazanfar Ali and other officers.While directing the officers for augmentation of sports infrastructure in J&K, Advisor directed the Engineering wing of J&K Sports Council and other officers that timeline should be drawn in respect of every project and no excuses should be offered in this regard.While reviewing the progress of stadia in both the divisions, Advisor directed that all the stadia must be made accessible to persons with disabilities and said that satisfactory seating options for wheelchair-bound spectators should be kept where they could be positioned. He also said that accessible toilets should be made available at all the infrastructure facilities that are specially designed to better accommodate people with physical disabilities.Gazanfar Ali gave a detailed presentation wherein he gave present status of the ongoing projects in Jammu and Kashmir. He informed that the completed and to be completed sports infrastructure worth Rs 202 cr are at different stages of completion.Advisor said that government is committed to provide National level sports infrastructure to the youth of J&K so that they are able to compete at all levels.He said the ongoing and other projects that are in the pipeline would give boost to the sports activities in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir and have to be completed within the stipulated time frame. He also said that any work taken up has to be taken to its logical conclusion and all projects have to be taken after meticulous planning right from the start.He directed the department that they will be provided every kind of support but they must show results on the ground.The projects that came up for discussion include synthetic surface hockey fields, net practice pitches, cement concrete badminton courts, cement concrete basketball courts, synthetic volleyball courts, synthetic surface athletic fields, Synthetic football turfs and other facilities. The Advisor directed the officers to hold periodical reviews of all the projects so that they get completed within the given time frame while maintaining the quality standards and directed them to hire consultancy services wherever required.He also said that monthly progress reports of every work should be sent to his office along with the photographs. He said that no excuses will be entertained and wants better results for effective delivery of services.
