Sports enthusiasts seek better infra from political parties

Dehradun

: With issues like unemployment, inflation and education taking centre stage in the assembly polls, sports enthusiasts feel their demands, including a sports university and jobs for athletes, have been put on the back burner.

Kishore Singh Bafila, secretary of the state hockey association, said, "As sports policy doesn't impact electoral process, parties ignore the crucial sports sector. While political parties have promised to set up a sports university in the state, none of the parties in the fray has come up with a strategy to help athletes and promote sports in the state.”

He added, “Unemployment is the biggest issue as athletes still await jobs under the sports quota. Recently, there were job vacancies in police department but there was no provision for sportspersons. Also, when it comes to infrastructure, there are not many hostels and proper fields for athletes. In fact, there are only two AstroTurf in the entire state, one at Dehradun’s sports college and the other at Roshanabad stadium in Haridwar.”