IMPHAL, January 7: The Yourabung High School Ground which has remained useless for long has been repaired today by social worker Mongjam Poreihanba of Lamlai assembly constituency who is also a state executive member of the BJP Manipur Pradesh today.
The ground was newly laid in view of a State level nine-a-side open football tournament beginning from January 17. Unable to organise such tournaments in the play ground for the last 20 years due to its abysmal condition, the local club formed a committee along with members of the North Eastern Young Star Association and requested the social worker to initiate the ground repair works.
Mongjam Poreihanba provided tractors and trucks for levelling and repairing the ground to transform it into a standard football play ground, said North Eastern Young Star Association, Yourabung president Punsiba Laitonjam.
The playground has now been developed with the help of the social worker who also happens to be an executive member of the State BJP. The locals of Yourabung especially the young players expressed their gratitude to Poreihanba. The development committee will support him in any social works initiated by him in the future, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Poreihanba said many state level football tournaments were organised till 1995 in the playground but due to some unavoidable circumstances the tournaments stopped. Later, a land dispute occurred which has impaired the talent of our local football players and sportspersons, he said, adding local players were deprived of a proper playground and so they started performing poorly in sports. Recently, our local people formed a committee for the sporting future of the young generations, he informed.
This year, he said, he got the opportunity to develop the playground to a proper football field which can produce young sporting talents who can represent the state or the nation in the future. So, he has taken the decision of repairing the ground after being advised by the committee, the social worker added.
He also informed that the last date of form submissions for the tourney has been extended to January 10 as CC Meet is going on.