Haryana U-19 players forced to practice elsewhere after training ground turns into a dump yard

The Haryana Under-19 women’s team has been left to shell out money of their own and travel more than 20 km to practice after the ground premises of the Kadipur Senior Secondary School have been turned into a permanent dumping ground for construction and demolition (C&D;) waste.



According to the school administration, the waste has been dumped on its playground for the past couple of years with the lockdown adding more to the misery because it has been shut for the past seven months. Although the head coach Ajit Singh Daghar is trying his best moving pillar to pillar to have a solution to the matter to no avail.



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“Our girls’ team is brilliant but we need a place to practice,” Daghar was quoted as saying to Times of India. “We had invested our savings and planted grass cover, pitched nets and wickets for practice in the Kadipur school playground. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) started dumping malba (C&D; waste) on the ground two years ago.”



“They had promised they will cover the ground with three feet malba and carpet it with soil. Now, the piles of waste are as high as four feet, but they have not levelled it. We have complained everywhere and the issue has been taken to a number of administration officials,” Daghar added.



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As a result the players now practice twice a week at far-off locations like Faridabad road and Wazirpur village, being forced to spend money on travelling, ground rent and security concerns. “These girls come from humble backgrounds; they are forced to travel 20-25 km by auto just to practise. During the lockdown, waste dumping has increased manifold. MCG trucks dump the C&D; waste on the ground at night when nobody is around,” the coach said.



Besides this, the ground condition also worsens when there is rain making it unplayable even for training. The school administration admitted that the cricket ground has always been in a dilapidated condition. “Last year, the sports room in the school had caught fire, destroying the cricket kits and other supplies. Automaker Maruti had sponsored the team and provided skit worth Rs 1 lakh to the cricket team, but they were stolen in August,” an official said.