SIALKOT, Oct 5: Despite the passing of five years after the project’s approval, construction work for a hockey stadium of international standard is yet to begin at Sialkot.

According to the official sources, there has been no development on the project for the last five years even though the provincial and district government had made tall claims of allocating huge funds annually for this project.

While expressing his grave concern over the situation, the President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Dr Khurram Anwar Khawaja said that the early establishment of an international standard hockey stadium at Sialkot was the demand of the day. “It is needed for promoting and polishing hockey talent in Sialkot, a city known for producing world class sports goods, especially hockey sticks. Besides Sialkot also has the honour of producing renowned hockey players such as Shehnaz Sheikh, Asif Bajwa, Manzur Junior, Zahid Sheikh, Maqsud Hussain, Mehmood Hussain, Nasir Ali and Muneer Bhatti,” he said.

Meanwhile, local social, sports, business and political circles have urged the Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to take serious notice in this regard. —PPI