G-B players set sights on next PSL

CM says long-delayed project of Sports Complex Skardu would materialise soon

GILGIT: After two successful seasons of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Gilgit-Baltistan is planning to enter the fray next year, right after players and fans from the region get their first world-class cricket stadium.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed its willingness to establish a stadium in Skardu,” Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman said on Saturday.

Although polo is the hallmark sport of G-B, followed by the likes of volleyball and football, youngsters in the region can excel in any sport, Rehman said during a briefing arranged by deputy commissioner of Skardu over ongoing development projects in the district.



The stadium would help train players from the area for national and international events, the chief minister added.

“Team Gilgit-Baltistan will look to participate in the next Pakistan Super League,” Rehman said.



He added that the long-delayed Sports Complex project in Skardu would be completed soon with assistance from the federal sports ministry, adding that grounds for cricket, hockey and football would also be established under the project.

Rehman further said that they were using available resources to complete all ongoing development work within the stipulated time limit.

The G-B chief minister added that the government had approved a proposal to establish a solid waste management company in Skardu which would help improve the standard of sanitation facilities in the city.

Taking note of the non-functional power plants in Gultari, he sought a report from the concerned department over it.

The CM was particularly concerned about encroachments in the seasonal streams. Noting that these dry river beds were state land, hence they were easily occupied, he was told.



However, in the case of heavy rains, people living in on or around these river beds were swept away in flash floods and the blame falls on the government.

Rehman directed the civil administration to remove encroachments from the streams, noting that it would help save precious lives and property during floods.

“Around 100 hotels are under construction in various areas of the region. Moreover, tent villages are being set up at the famous tourist spots,” Rehman noted, adding that the civil administration and private sector should devise a plan for tent villages.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2017.