Ghost Projects or Sports Development? The Frightening Reality of KP's Sports Infrastructure

 

PESHAWAR, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – A shocking report from the Directorate of Works of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Works Department has revealed a grim picture of more than 60 sports projects, triggering serious concerns regarding their intention and implementation. From badminton complexes to cricket academies, tennis facilities, climbing walls, and artificial tracks, these projects seem plagued by redundancy, dubious locations, and a stark absence of any real need or functionality.

The report identifies a startling incidence of badminton halls in unlikely locations. From Law College D.I. Khan to Government Primary School Malik Pur, Buner, the halls appear to mushroom without obvious reason. In Lakki Marwat alone, there are three halls reported, two with the same name – an evident indication of possible forgery or frank abuse of public money. More baffling is the establishment of badminton halls inside the Mardan Central Jail and a Darul Uloom, raising serious doubts about whether these are helping sports development or are just an exercise in futility for taxpayer dollars.

The Directorate of Works' report contains more than 12 cricket academies. But on closer inspection, the inconsistencies are disturbing. Hanif Khan Sports Complex in Malakand, for example, is duplicated on the project list, with obvious double-entry and possible financial mismanagement. In addition, academies in areas such as Bazukhurki Mardan or Akrab Dog Bala Mohmand have allegedly been located in areas that do not have local youth access to coaching, equipment, or organization.

Likewise, the development of climbing walls in Swat, Mardan, Kohat, and Qayyum Stadium under the control of the Works Department is a cause of major concern. The real condition of these climbing walls in Peshawar and Mardan is uncertain, with no trainers present or local kids informed about the sport. The critics cite the projects as nothing more than an opportunity for contractors to gain profit, not actual investment in sports facilities. Measures to get details of these projects through Right to Information requests have been stuck for more than one year.

The report also lays bare the irony of facilities such as synthetic flooring in Hayatabad Stadium and Agricultural University, where halls mostly remain shut or unused, keeping youth away from these expensive facilities. The repeated occurrence of several tennis courts, squash courts, and badminton halls indicates that the process is guided by political manipulation and contracts instead of a concerted sports policy. Some projects are even replicated within a single institution, like more than one court in Peshawar University and Islamia College.

Most worrying, perhaps, are initiatives such as the female gymnasium in Swat or the youth center in Chitral, which are finished on paper but remain inaccessible and unused on the ground. Millions have been invested in these schemes, and their usage is zero.

The Directorate of Works projects seem to reveal political pressure, double-filing, and fragmented strategies instead of a real interest in offering sport facilities for the young people. There are pressing requests for an immediate audit of the projects, geo-tagging, and public scrutiny.

Sports circles are now calling for the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinize these projects. They demand that the Sports Directorate make public detailed information and photographic records of all the projects. Beyond this, feasibility reports, budgets, and project results must be disclosed under the Right to Information Act.

 

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