No progress at boxing gymnasium

KARACHI: More than a dozen visits of ministry of IPC and PSB high officials have proved to be joy trips as the boxing gymnasium and other projects at National Sports Training and Coaching Centre (NSTCC) in Karachi have not been opened although 95 percent work has been completed.
Neither PPP nor PML-N government has taken much interest in completing these projects due to which these state-of-the-art facilities are getting rusted.
The minister for IPC Riaz Pirzada also visited the complex and so did joint secretary Khalid Mehmood and several teams of engineers of IPC and PCB. But the visits did not lead to any progress.
The projects had been started several years ago, but were delayed after the 18th Amendment.
The boxing gym also has space for badminton, table tennis, bodybuilding and weight-lifting. The gymnasium has a capacity for 2000 spectators.
After its opening the province will be able to host boxing and other sports events at one place.
The sports authorities in Sindh government and Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) have also failed to give due importance to sports.
The projects were started during the rule of General Pervaiz Musharraf.
Late Prof Anwar Chaudhry, who was president of International amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) from 1986 to 2006, was one of the greatest Pakistan sports organisers.
He was the one who requested the then president to build a gymnasium for Pakistani pugilists, saying the country won most of its medals in this sport.
The lethargic bureaucracy and lack of awareness of the political leadership of the country has frustrated the local boxers who desire to have better facilities.
Not a single member of national and Sindh assemblies has raised questions about delay in these vital projects.
It is interesting to note that one of the elected politicians was interested in getting big billboards installed at NSTCC as well as National Stadium.