Thursday, June 14, 2007

Handing over of Niaz Stadium to PCB in doldrums

HYDERABAD: The handing over of the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is lying in pending but the Board officials said that the agreement with the district government for handing over the stadium to PCB would be finalized next month.

In the past, the Niaz Stadium Hyderabad was utilized as wedding lawn and heli-pad for the arrival of the higher personalities. The Supreme Court itself took notice of the stadium’s utilization for wedding ceremonies.

Later, on the directive of the president General Pervez Musharraf, former chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan took over the control of the stadium and decided to renovate it up to the standard of an international stadium. For this, he made correspondence with the Hyderabad’s district administration but after his resignation the matter was put in pending.

On the other hand, a PCB official Abdul Hussain Shah claimed that the agreement between the PCB and the district government of Hyderabad would be finalized next month.

As per the ICC rules, a five-star hotel in the city is must for holding international matches at a stadium. In this connection, Hyderabad’s district government had got a Sindh government approval for building a hotel on a government land adjacent to the Niaz Stadium.

The citizens of Hyderabad demanded the PCB to take over the Niaz Stadium and start its construction as soon as possible.

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