KOHAT: The famous Company Park, which once was an important place of recreation for dwellers of the city, has been a victim of constant neglect of the tehsil municipal administration and district council.

Over the years, the city’s lone park has been turned into a place reserved for public meetings and protest rallies only, as the facilities like swings for children have not been repaired for decades.

Mostly, the lawns of the park were occupied by students of seminaries sucking sugarcane in winter and eating water melons, leaving the trash behind. Some people could be noticed chewing naswar and smoking hashish. Also, buildings are being erected on part of park. This environment discourages the families from coming to the park with their children.

Same is the case with the KDA Park where presence of gangsters often irks the families who come their especially on Sundays. Stray dogs could also be seen in the park which cause fear among the families who never return for the second time. Besides, Kohat has suffered badly at the hands of terrorists and the families do not allow children to go to parks and playgrounds in the evening due to fear of blasts and firing incidents.

Recreational facilities shrink due to official neglect

Regrettably, there are no security guards or police deployed at the parks to discourage the gangsters from coming there with their dogs and use of naswar and hashish there. Hashish, opium and heroin are easily available in Kohat, which had destroyed many families.

It is need of the hour to create opportunities for the youth and engage them in healthy activities by providing them proper places for daily exercise and sports.

Former head of the sports faculty of Islamia College, Peshawar, Abdul Waheed says that playgrounds are necessary for a society where the youth have limited job opportunities because they could be easily attracted to bad activities.

He said that the administration should immediately take action to close down all sale points of drugs and open recovery centres so that people can shun drugs. Moreover, the administration and NGOs, who receive huge funds every year, also need to divert the people towards indoor and outdoor games. Large spaces are available in the city where the administration should construct clubs like the civil club, said Mr Waheed.

Unfortunately, ours is a country where hospitals are full of patients due to lack of recreational facilities for the people, says Dr Shireen Jan, who works at the Kohat Medical Centre. He said that people’s average age is coming down, as most of them are affected by stomach ailments, depression, pain in joints, dull face and baldness while cases of short heights among children are on the rise.

A park was under construction in the far-flung place on Bannu Road by the name of Faraz Park. However, it has been vigorously opposed by the people due to its long distance from the city.

The famous Rukhy Ground (hockey ground) has fallen into the red zone and sealed permanently for the people. The long security corridor between the cantonment and the city has almost engulfed the hockey ground. Many bungalows in front of it are being razed for the construction of yet another market by the cantonment board, though the place could have been converted into a playground or a park for families.

Fort Ground, which is the property of army, is the only available place in the city where youth could play games. “I played cricket during my whole youth at the Fort Ground which kept me away from bad habits. This way we also made good friends in the district,” said Mohammad Shabbir, a resident. He said that it was time for the district sports department to organise sports competitions instead of wasting funds. The people of Kohat have urged the provincial government and the local administration to take steps for renovating the existing facilities and constructing new parks and playgrounds to encourage healthy activities in the city.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2014