Arunachal Pradesh is planning to build a football stadium with a seating capacity of 25,000 to 30,000 near Holongi in Balijan Circle of Papum Pare district, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has announced. The proposed facility is expected to strengthen the state’s sports infrastructure and provide more opportunities for football players.
Speaking to the media, Khandu said around one lakh square metres of land had been identified for the project. The tendering process has been completed, and construction is expected to begin within a month.
The proposed stadium is intended to support the growing popularity of football in Arunachal Pradesh and provide a larger venue for sporting events. Khandu said the facility would complement the existing Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia, helping create more opportunities for players to develop their skills and pursue the sport.
The project is expected to add to the state’s sports infrastructure and support efforts to promote football among young people. The availability of a larger stadium could also improve the state’s capacity to host major football matches and other sporting events.
Separately, Khandu has emphasised the need to develop yak rearing into a sustainable source of income for communities living in the high-altitude and frontier areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
“The yak sustains our high-altitude communities, preserves our cultural heritage and contributes to the resilience of our frontier regions. We must transform this traditional livelihood into a sustainable source of economic opportunity,” Khandu wrote on X.
To develop a roadmap for the yak economy, the chief minister chaired a virtual meeting involving the Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Dairy Development (AHV&DD) department, the Indian Army, the ICAR–National Research Centre on Yak (ICAR–NRCY) and other stakeholders.
The discussions focused on ways to improve yak-based livelihoods, expand economic opportunities and protect the traditional practices associated with yak rearing.
Khandu said the proposed roadmap should go beyond conventional products such as milk and chhurpi, a cheese made from yak milk that is widely consumed in Himalayan regions. He identified scientific breeding, improved animal husbandry practices, seasonal grazing stations and better dairy processing as potential areas for development.
The plan also envisages opportunities in yak fibre, handicrafts and community-based border tourism. These activities could help local communities diversify their sources of income while making better use of resources available in high-altitude regions.
Yak rearing remains important to the livelihoods and cultural traditions of several communities in the Himalayan region. However, developing the sector requires improvements in animal care, breeding, processing and access to markets.
Khandu said efforts to strengthen the yak economy should balance income generation with the conservation of the animals and the preservation of the region’s traditional livelihood systems.
The two initiatives reflect the state government’s focus on infrastructure development and economic opportunities. While the proposed football stadium aims to provide better facilities for players and sporting events, the yak economy roadmap seeks to strengthen traditional livelihoods and support communities in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote frontier areas.
