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Ludhiana: PAU students allege damage to football ground during Diljit show
PAU, Ludhiana, vice chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal said the ground would be ploughed and planted with Malaysian grass
Students and retired faculty members of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have expressed concern over the damage caused to the football ground due to the New Year eve musical concert of Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh.
While some of the makeshift arrangements are still being removed, the sheets covering the ground have come off. Heavy vehicles and other arrangements have left the ground uneven besides damaging the grass cover. The venue spanned across two full length football fields.
APS Brar, a former professor of the PAU, said, “The damage it (concert) has caused to the ground is obvious. The ground needs to be levelled properly for players.”
Angrej Mann, a student leader, said, “There is no doubt that Diljit Dosanjh’s show was a huge hit but who will compensate for the condition of the ground after the show? What is the fault of the players of Punjab Agricultural University, the institution that produced Olympian and national level players?” The ground should be restored without delay, he said. Other students too expressed similar views.
APS Brar also questioned the logic behind holding the event on the university premises. “This is a research university. It is very important to build a serious academic atmosphere here. Such atmosphere will be disturbed if such shows are organised here,” he said.
“This concert wasn’t for our students. None of them could afford the ticket. Neither was there any area at the venue reserved for them. This was purely commercial. That is not what university is meant for,” he said.
He also expressed concern over “liquor bottles seen at the venue”. “Rural people may develop a perception that the university is a place where things like concerts and liquors are normal. They may not want to send their kids, especially girls, into such an environment,” he added.
Jila Ram Bansal, president of the PAU Retirees Welfare Association, said, “Even faculty members who book Sukhdev Bhawan for some personal functions are forbidden from having loud music and liquor. Why these things were ignored (for Diljit’s concert)?”
PAU vice chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal said the ground would be ploughed and planted with Malaysian grass. “The ground is maintained every year. We are planting special Malaysian grass on all grounds. These football fields will also be fixed the same way,” he said.
