Reconstruction work on Peshawar stadium pavilion progressing

PESHAWAR: The reconstruction work on the pavilion at the Qayyum Stadium in Peshawar is in full-swing while the Directorate of Sports is ready to get control of the 10 constructed playgrounds across the province by the end of the current month.
This was stated by Director General Sports Mian Adil Iqbal on Sunday, said a press release. “The pavilion at the Qayyum Stadium was in a shambles. The directorate took the initiative to reconstruct and renovate it according to the international standards,” he said. He added the pavilion would include a state-of-the-art media centre, rooms for players, conference room at a cost of Rs15 million.
The official said the players were facing hardships during matches due to the outdated pavilion and lack of accommodation. Besides this, he said the Sports Directorate was making all-out efforts to promote sports in every nook and corner of the province so that the youth could be engaged in positive and healthy activities.
For this purpose, he said, a number of playgrounds were being constructed across the province on need basis. He said the construction of 47 out of the total 75 stadiums had been approved under the Annual development Programme 2015-16 and handed over to the Construction & Works Department for construction. The director general said that 10 of these stadiums will be handed over to the directorate of sports this month after completion of work while the rest would be given next month. “This is a big achievement as the development of playgrounds has been the most awaited project and all were excited to see its completion,” he added.
The directorate will also announce youth promotional activities by end of this month. These activities will be held at national and district levels. Debates, concerts, funfairs and students exchange programmes will form part of the activities.
The youth of KP are very talented, enthusiastic and energetic but they had never been given proper opportunities to showcase skills, he said.
The official added that youth directorate was also being established to encourage youth to come forward to participate in games and other healthy activities. He said the summary about setting up of a youth directorate had already been sent to chief minister for approval.