Jalandhar, October 11, 2013- Members of the Sant Prem Singh Indian Overseas Sports and Cultural Association have alleged an attempt to grab the land of a stadium being run by them at the Fatehgarh village for the past 13 years. They have alleged that some village residents interested to foil their efforts have laid false claim on the stadium land and have currently rendered it unusable for sports purposes.
Addressing a press meet here today, Pritam Singh Narangpur, an NRI and president of the association, said the five acre land for the stadium had been handed over to the association from the joint panchayat of the Fatehpur and Sikri villages (in Kapurthala district) on 17 February 1998. About, 15-20 NRIs were part of the club.
“The land was deep, unkempt and full of pits. We invested Rs 45 lakh to level the land and also invested for the turf, fixtures, rooms, etc for the stadium. It played a pivotal role in promoting sports and holding cultural meets in the village, which we used to hold in India every year after specially coming from our respective countries abroad,” said Pritam Singh Narangpur, one of the member of the association.
The members of the association have NRIs from UK, the US, Canada among other countries.
“But in recent times, the new village panchayat made an appeal in the Kapurthala court against us and asking that the stadium be emptied by us. In 2006-07, another group filed a similar appeal. The appeal has been dismissed by the court but the party still does not want to leave claim over the stadium. Recently, the angles for the sheds in the stadium were also damaged by them and iron sheets stolen. They now plant fodder on the land. Things can’t go on normally as long as they continue to stake a claim on the land,” said Narangpur.
Peeved, he said some of the sports lovers and students’ parents from the villages also made a complaint at the the Begowal police station against these parties but so far no action has been initiated by the police.
Narangpur said while the government exhorts NRIs to come to Punjab and send their children here as well, incidents like these act as a big dampener for them. “We have been holding events which have boosted sports and given youth in the villages a bridge with their culture and sports but the treatment being meted out to us has left us disillusioned. All we want is that the administration should ensure the use of the land for the noble purpose of sports and culture rather than the useless pursuits our detractors want them for.”
Rajinder Singh, one of the appellants against the change of the use of the land for stadium, said, “The village did not give the land to the NRIs. This is the only common land available to both the villages and if any family needs extra land to set up houses, this land is the only option. There is ample room for sports in the school ground. They hold events there if they want. The village’s prime land should remain with the village.”
Addressing a press meet here today, Pritam Singh Narangpur, an NRI and president of the association, said the five acre land for the stadium had been handed over to the association from the joint panchayat of the Fatehpur and Sikri villages (in Kapurthala district) on 17 February 1998. About, 15-20 NRIs were part of the club.
“The land was deep, unkempt and full of pits. We invested Rs 45 lakh to level the land and also invested for the turf, fixtures, rooms, etc for the stadium. It played a pivotal role in promoting sports and holding cultural meets in the village, which we used to hold in India every year after specially coming from our respective countries abroad,” said Pritam Singh Narangpur, one of the member of the association.
The members of the association have NRIs from UK, the US, Canada among other countries.
“But in recent times, the new village panchayat made an appeal in the Kapurthala court against us and asking that the stadium be emptied by us. In 2006-07, another group filed a similar appeal. The appeal has been dismissed by the court but the party still does not want to leave claim over the stadium. Recently, the angles for the sheds in the stadium were also damaged by them and iron sheets stolen. They now plant fodder on the land. Things can’t go on normally as long as they continue to stake a claim on the land,” said Narangpur.
Peeved, he said some of the sports lovers and students’ parents from the villages also made a complaint at the the Begowal police station against these parties but so far no action has been initiated by the police.
Narangpur said while the government exhorts NRIs to come to Punjab and send their children here as well, incidents like these act as a big dampener for them. “We have been holding events which have boosted sports and given youth in the villages a bridge with their culture and sports but the treatment being meted out to us has left us disillusioned. All we want is that the administration should ensure the use of the land for the noble purpose of sports and culture rather than the useless pursuits our detractors want them for.”
Rajinder Singh, one of the appellants against the change of the use of the land for stadium, said, “The village did not give the land to the NRIs. This is the only common land available to both the villages and if any family needs extra land to set up houses, this land is the only option. There is ample room for sports in the school ground. They hold events there if they want. The village’s prime land should remain with the village.”
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