GUWAHATI: A day after the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) expressed deep shock over a concrete helipad inside a playground in western Assam’s Dhubri district, which damaged three cricket pitches, the Dhubri district administration has instructed removal of concrete structures immediately.
Dhubri deputy commissioner Ananta Lal Gyani told
TOI
, “The temporary helipad was constructed during the rainy season. That was constructed temporarily only for landing VVIP helicopters as there was no vacant field available due to the severe floods in the district.”
Gyani said it came to his knowledge on Saturday that the concrete structures have not been removed yet and so he has instructed PWD officials to remove it immediately.
The structures came to light after the ACA team, including Javed Zaman, a local who represented India A and other teams at the senior level, visited the ground of Zhagrapara Stadium, Dhubri, which is exclusively owned by Dhubri District Sports Association on October 30 as a part of their assessment of the existing cricket infrastructure and its shortfall in Dhubri.
“We are shocked to find a concrete helipad and paver blocks on three cricket pitches at the centre of the ground. As part of our mission to develop grounds into proper cricketing fields across the state, a team of ACA officials went to Dhubri and was shocked to find the pathetic condition of the field,” ACA secretary Devajit Saikia told the media on Sunday.
The ACA officials were equally shocked to find a pebbled road around the pitch area where the helipad is located, as a result of which the outfield has also been substantially damaged, an ACA press statement issued on Saturday read.
Saikia said the district administration’s decision to set up the helipad has not only caused major damage to the only cricket ground in Dhubri, but also stopped any possibilities of resumption of cricket activities.
He urged the district administration to remove the helipad, along with the pebbled road, besides restoring the cricket ground to its original condition by repairing the damage so that cricketing activities can be started as soon as possible.
Saikia also assured Dhubri District Sports Association officials that the ACA will take up the matter with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who himself is on a mission to create sports infrastructure in the state.
The cricket stadium has been hosting district-level matches for many years and, sources said, there were plans to improve the facilities there so that state-level matches could be held. The officials were on a visit to the stadium to assess the condition.