SAHIWAL: The Pakpattan Sports Gymnasium project has been lying incomplete for the last seven years or so, because of the alleged negligence of the district government, building department and the Punjab Sports Board (PSB), not only depriving local players of a modern facility but also resulting in escalation in its cost by over Rs30 million.

The project envisaging a state-of-the-art facility meant for seven sports and supposed to accommodate some 250 players at a time, was to be completed in January 2011, according to its original plan. However, it got delayed and finally the contractor left unfinished in 2012.

Divisional Sports Officer Akbar Murad told Dawn: “The government approved contractor Hussain Shah belonging to Arifwala had left the project incomplete and a case against him is pending with the Anti-Corruption Establishment and the Punjab Sports Board”.

An insider seeking anonymity said the project had been left unfinished following a dispute between the then district officer (buildings) Riaz Butt and the contractor, Shah.

Pakpattan District Sports Officer Fasil Imran said the PSB had allocated the funds for the project and it was up to the executing agency (the district building department) to investigate why it had not been completed yet.

As per official sources, in 2009 the PSB had allocated Rs60.05 million for the gymnasium in Pakpattan to provide the first-ever modern sports facility for the local players in a rural area.

The construction contract was awarded by the buildings department and the Pakpattan district government was supposed to ensure the implementation of the project, they said.

They added that the project, however, could not take off for 16 months and because of the delay in start of construction work its cost had to be revised in 2015. As a result, they said, the project got costlier by a hefty sum of Rs30.3m.

Three years on, the structure of the gymnasium is still without a roof, ground rooms and other facilities. What one finds at the project site are only brick walls without plaster and the rusting iron fence.

Mohsin Ali, who is local Taekwondo coach, having more than three national gold medals, blamed negligence on the part of the buildings department, the district government, besides local and divisional sports offices for the fiasco.

Mr Ali said that because of incomplete gymnasium, he had to coach his pupils at the project site on a mud floor.

A local player said that sportsmen belonging to Pakpattan district had won many titles at the provincial and national levels despite financial constraints but the district government’s negligence has so far deprived them of a modern sports facility, also resulting in wastage of taxpayer’s money.

The sources said PSB director general and other officials concerned had once visited the project site but so far no concrete step had been taken to complete the gymnasium.

The players, sportsmen and coaches demanded a thorough probe into the issue, besides early completion of the project.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018