Multan needs more playgrounds

MULTAN: It is a fact that playgrounds promote physical activity and prevent the youth from resorting to negative trends so that their potential can be utilised in a healthy way.

Outdoor physical activity also reduces the risk of psychological problems in children and boosts their self-esteem. According to medical specialists, the health benefits of physical activity are reduction of risk factors for disease, achieving a peak bone mass and mental well-being. Residents of different colonies felt that the playgrounds in the city were insufficient and they believe that this dearth might compel their children fall to negative tendencies. Majority of younger generation is already lost to the internet addiction and the social networking platforms through smart phones, laptop and desktop computers. These gadgets are isolating them from the people around them and connecting them to the strangers. Moreover, dearth of sports grounds is also contributing to the internet addiction and preventing the youth to indulge in any physical activity. They used to play cricket on roads and streets. The city of over 1.8 million population has only 14 playgrounds, which is insufficient to meet the needs of a larger younger segment of population.

The playgrounds and indoor playing facilities that adorn the city landscape include district sports ground, football ground, hockey ground, basketball court, sports gymnasium, MCC ground, Safqaat Sports Complex, Ayub Cricket Stadium, Emerson college ground, BZU ground, Nishtar ground, Qasim Bagh stadium and Muslim Public School and college ground. Gravity of the situation can be judged from the fact that over 30 different teams play cricket every day at district sports ground located in the centre of the city near Kalma Chowk and the jumbled pattern become more complex on holidays. The same situation was being noticed in other playgrounds of the city. Those who fail to find space on playgrounds, move either to roads and streets or to vast spaces of private housing schemes in the suburbs of the city. There are many housing colonies in the city where there is no space allocated for sports activities despite clear directions by the Multan Development Authority (MDA), hence the young talent is moving to other big cities for more opportunities in sports.

Majid Ali, a local cricketer, said that cricket was his favourite game but unfortunately there was no proper place near his residence where he could play. Adnan Khan of Lodhi Colony said his son wanted to become a national cricketer but he could not continue his practice due to shortage of playgrounds. He said he was also planning to move to Lahore for the future of his son. Parents complained that due to the absence of playgrounds, they did not allow their children to play in the streets because that could be dangerous for them. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the educational institutions in the city do not provide the playing facilities to the students. Parents have expressed concern over the lack of playgrounds and urged the officials concerned to provide schools with ample space to be used for sports activities.

Asif Shabbir, a local, said that a large number of schools were being run in the residential areas in small houses, which were not able to facilitate students with grounds. District Sports Officer Chaudhry Farooq Latif said there was a cricket ground, a hockey ground, two football grounds (one more is under construction), a gymnasium for indoor sports and a wrestling arena under its supervision. He claimed that all possible resources were being utilised to provide sports activities to the youth of the city. He said the district sports department was organising different events and competitions to polish the local talent. To create attraction for young talent, Punjab government has made an e-library in the sports gymnasium, he informed.

Different lectures of coaches, players and officers would be arranged in future to bring more improvement in the talent of youth. “Several new playgrounds have been constructed by the department concerned,” he added.