The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is taking steps to upgrade recreational facilities in the federal capital to provide the opportunities for healthy activities to the people particularly the youth. An official of CDA told APP that the authority is considering different options to revamp the sport facilities and upgrade the sports grounds with the assistance of the private and corporate sector, equipping these with latest facilities. The authority is preparing a comprehensive plan for up-gradation of the sports centre in line with international standard. “Islamabad is one of the beautiful city in the world and all out efforts would be made for provision of international standard sports facilities. Youth is the real asset of a society and sports activities would keep them away from all kinds of negative activities and would lead to a healthy society,” the official said.
The sports grounds consisting football ground, basket ball court, badminton court with a walking track in various sectors would be developed in a short period of time. The official said that the ongoing development work of the Lake View Park phase-II would be completed on priority and work on water sport facility and allied entertainment or recreational facilities are underway. Parks add value and pride to a city and play a major role in improving the quality of life of residents and the Authority would ensure timely completion of development work as per international standards with assurance of all precautionary safety and environment-friendly measures.
All kinds of encroachments would also be removed, besides completing development and maintenance work in all parks and opening them for the public. The maintenance and cleanliness would also be ensured to avoid hindrance to the public visiting the parks, the official said. The civic body is facing financial crunch, however, a comprehensive plan is being devised to overcome the financial problems for resolve the civic amenities Puppet theatre keeps folk traditions alive: Puppeteers of National Puppet Theater here Monday mesmerized the children by keeping alive folk traditions through a colorful puppet show at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
Attired in vibrant costumes both traditional and modern, the troupe of little actors in the children theater educated them about their rich cultural heritage through animated expressions combined with perfect stage setting, entertaining scripts and props. The puppeteers involved the children in imaginary stories to address various social issues, create awareness regarding environment education and inculcate cultural values and traditional heritage to the young generation. Tableaus on popular stories, national songs, regional dances and folk tales were performed in different segments of the show that is a regular programme of PNCA for providing informative entertainment for children who attend the event along with their parents.
Various roles of puppets including evil or good, showed a concern over pollution and maintaining cleanliness in the surroundings to educate children for protecting the environment of their planet earth with their animated expressions. “The show organised by PNCA and Ministry of National Heritage and Integration promotes culture and traditions among the children with understanding of their folk legacies which is an important part of their training,” said Tauqir Nasir, Director General PNCA.
He said that travelling cultural and puppet shows have been organized across the country in slum areas and different schools at every province to promote the cultural values among the young generation and deprived communities. Preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and traditional values maintain the identity of a nation and boosts the confidence of the young generation, he said.
