Budnamal youth demand construction of playground

Kupwara, June 25: Residents of Budnamal in the Chowkibal area of Kupwara are calling for the construction of a playfield in their locality, emphasizing the importance of sports infrastructure for their youth. The lack of a dedicated playground has left local children with no space to engage in sports, leading to frustration among young athletes eager to prove their mettle.

The residents highlight the government's current focus on developing sports infrastructure to keep youth away from drugs and other anti-social activities. Despite this, their repeated pleas for a playground have fallen on deaf ears, leaving residents disheartened by the inaction of the authorities. “I am unable to figure out that on one side the government is taking concrete steps in eradicating the drug menace from society by organizing different sports events but on the other side our basic demand is not being adhered to,” a local cricketer Naseer Ahmad Lone told Greater Kashmir.

The residents said that the area has abundant government land available which needs to be developed into a playground. “Even we have approached concerned authorities several times and offered the land without any compensation but nothing concrete has materialized so far in this regard,” they added.