Nearing inauguration,Sec 78 stadium not complete

Most of the indoor complex is devoid basic equipment. There are no nets installed in the badminton courts,no poles in the basketball courts,no machinery in the gymnasium hall and no speed tracks in the skating rink. There are also various technical shortcomings in the badminton courts. Usually,there are no windows in a badminton court and the exhaust fans and doors are placed strategically to avoid any gush of air coming into the court.

However,the Chief Engineer of Greater Mohali Area Devlopment Authority (GMADA) said,most of the necessary infrastructure will be installed before the inauguration.

In May,Badal had visited the stadium and complained about the lack of seating capacity. There is no place for the audience in the basketball and badminton courts and according to sources,the skating rink has been cancelled to provide a seating capacity,although GMADA officials denied the claims.

Initially,the 400-metre track was wrongly constructed,but was later adjusted after intervention from experts from the Mohali District Athletics Association. Experts also allege that the cinder used in the track is of a sub-standard quality. Moreover,a walking track which was being built along the 400-metre track has been left midway. The circle for discus throw has also been constructed in a wrong way.

“Every athletics track should have provisions for water irrigation,water drainage,seating capacity for the audience,toilets and storage facilities for the equipment,” said Swaran Singh,a retired coach in the Sports Authority of India,after whose advice the glitches were corrected. None of the above-mentioned facilities exists in the track.

A velodrome (arena for track cycling) which was initially proposed to be built has been cancelled,and a restaurant will now be built in its place. There is at present no velodrome anywhere in Mohali.

The open space between the track and the indoor complex was supposed to have football and hockey fields,but as of now,the area lies completely neglected with no efforts done to level the field or install goal posts. It is mostly used by stray cattle for grazing.

In June this year,the district administration had claimed to complete the stadium and give the final touches within a month,including a synthetic lawn tennis court,Olympic size football and hockey fields,and a residential complex for players and coaches,which are nowhere to be seen.