Stadium landmark
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
November 9, 2006
INDIAN Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is due to leave Guyana today after an official two-day visit that has done much to consolidate the traditional strong ties between Guyana and India.
Adding to all the hallmarks of the close relations would be the new cricket stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara, which President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday hailed as a major landmark of the traditionally friendly ties between the two countries.
At the dedication ceremony, Mr Jagdeo said the stadium was a work of art and a wonder to behold and he paid special gratitude to India and its people for their contribution in making Guyana’s dream of having a national stadium a reality.
Mr Shekhawat called the stadium a “beautiful edifice which symbolises and demonstrates the friendship between the peoples of India and Guyana and an example of South-South cooperation to which India is committed.”
So, it seems set to be testimony, for a long time, to the bonds between India and Guyana forged since their common colonial past.
According to Mr. Jagdeo, the stadium has a lifetime of 75 years, and given the shared fanaticism cricket holds for the two countries, it would not be long before it achieves as hallowed a status as the Bourda cricket ground in Georgetown carved for Guyana in India and other major cricketing countries.
The stadium, under construction through an agreement between the governments of India and Guyana, providing for a US$6M grant and a US$19M loan on concessionary terms, will ensure that international cricket continues here.
India is billed to play a match at the stadium on April 7 during the Cricket World Cup 2007 tournament.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony said the stadium represents a monument to the existing strong friendship between India and Guyana, and declared that its true significance can only be understood by those who appreciate the socio-economic importance of cricket to Guyanese and their Caribbean counterparts, underscoring its role in regional unity.
The Shekhawat visit would also be noted for other glad tidings for Guyana from India, not least as the harbinger of traffic lights working again in Georgetown.
News of that project came just ahead of the Vice President’s visit and the agreement was formally signed Tuesday to make it a reality.
Non-functioning traffic lights have long been a nightmare in Georgetown and Guyanese would have a lot to be thankful to the Indian Government for when this scheme becomes a reality.
Another significant accord concluded yesterday was the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of the Rabindranauth Tagore Resource Centre at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara campus.
It was opened yesterday and we salute Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Avinash Gupta for his determination in making it a reality.
There was much wrought by this short visit of a senior official of the Indian Government and we join in commending the government and people of India for continuing to extend a helping hand to a sister developing country.