Creative Writing – 141
Comprehension Exercise
Sports bank helps Arunachal town kick the habit
New facilities have weaned youth away from drugs in Miao. The fight against drugs in a small town in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh is riding on a bank of sports equipment.
Soon after taking charge as the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Miao in February 2021, Sunny K. Singh observed many children and teenagers inhaling narcotic substances as dusk literally made the town fall into stupor. “Drug peddling and addiction is a huge problem in Arunachal Pradesh. I found out many young people were doing drugs in the evening because they had hardly anything else to do,” Mr. Singh said.
He decided to wake the town of about 8,000 people up with shots, serves and volleys. And floodlights.
But it was easier said than done; the football-cum- cricket ground in the town was in a bad shape.
Mr. Singh began meeting community leaders even as he looked for resources to provide sports facilities. Miao is inhabited mostly by the Tangsa, Singpho, Yobin, Gurkha, Chakma and Tibetan communities.
The determined official began overhauling the sports infrastructure. The football-cricket ground was renovated and floodlights put up. And a parkour park was built.
“As more children and teenagers began playing under lights from 5-9.30 p.m., I realised many poor children were not able to play because they did not have any sports kit,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu.
Another meeting with community leaders generated ₹2.5 lakh; part the ADC’s office was converted into a bank for the sports equipment bought with the money. The bank, unveiled on January 26, is open to all children but preference will soon be given to those from underprivileged sections.
Mr. Singh’s initiative has started paying dividends with Miao Brawn, the town’s parkour team winning two gold and two silver medals at an international event in Nepal a few months ago.
Explanation
This article is from Hindu of Feb 5 Front page. It’s about the way an innovative solution was found by a civil servant to the drug addiction problem among the locals.
Sports bank – It’s similar to a lending library. You borrow a book from a lending library to read. Later you return it. In the same way, a person can borrow sports equipments from a Sports Bank, play with it and then return it.
Good words and phrases to learn from this article
[Kick the habit, Wean someone away, To ride on something, Dusk, Stupor, Peddling of drugs, Addiction, Pay dividends]
Comprehension questions
1. What did Mr. Singh find in Miao that disturbed him?
2. How did he plan to fight the problem?
3. What difficulties did Mr. Singh faced initially?
4. Who are the inhabitants of Miao?
5. How did the community leaders help Mr. Singh?
6. What success did Mr. Singh achieve?
Answers
1. Mr. Singh was dismayed to find that most youngsters in the area took to drugs to while away their time in the evening hours. The drugs sedated them robbing them of their physical and mental energy. They just lapsed into slumber. Such wastage of human capital disturbed Mr. Singh.
2. Mr. Singh felt engaging the drug-addicted youth in fast-paced games like hockey and football could make them forget drugs. So, he decided to look for ways to start sports and games in Miao.
3. After years of disuse, the sports facilities in Miao had become derelict. The fields had to be repaired and the lights restored to make playing in the night hours possible. Mr. Singh needed funds and active support from locals to succeed in his efforts.
5. The community leaders came forward eagerly to help Mr. Singh. They garnered Rs.2.5 lakh as donations to finance the purchase of sports equipments.
6. The youngsters gradually left their drug habits, and played the games with enthusiasm. They won silver and gold medals in a sports events held in Nepal. For Mr. Singh, it was a task accomplished.