Experts shocked

MUMBAI, April 1: Technicians from AstroTurf, invited by the Bombay Hockey Association (BHA) to install the new astroturf at the Mahindra ...

MUMBAI, April 1: Technicians from AstroTurf, invited by the Bombay Hockey Association (BHA) to install the new astroturf at the Mahindra Stadium, hoped today that they would be able to complete the job before they leave the country.

Jason Cunningham and Gord Kerr, from the Canada-based Barber Sports Services, consultants to AstroTurf, were convinced the job could be completed within a month provided they could source one key ingredient, the urethene foam shock pad, in India.

Cunningham quelled a few worries when he said, “The replacement turf is in very good condition. Even the shock pad, the layer beneath the nylon turf, is fine in most parts of the field. We have to replace around 500 sq yards of shock pad. Once we do that, we just roll out the turf. If the shock pad is available here, the job will take two weeks.”

Kerr and Cunningham proceed to Jammu next week, where they will complete an installation job left unfinished by the same firm, Balsam, that duped BHA. They will return to Mumbai after twoweeks, time in which BHA has to source the shock pad. Kerr is carrying samples of the pad to Delhi, en route to Jammu, where he will make inquiries with a couple of firms.

Kerr sympathised with the BHA’s plight, at the hands of Balsam, over the past three years. He said, “They could not have done anything differently. They could only have yelled louder, sooner.”

Asked why the earlier astroturf had worn out so quickly, Kerr said, “I was shocked to see the state it was in today. From our knowledge of Balsam turfs, I can say it must not have been ultra-violet (UV) stabilised. The nylon (Version 6) broke down in the heat, just as a plastic can, exposed to sun through the year, grows brittle.” Kerr added the new turf (Version 6.6) was UV protected, a norm now in artificial turfs.

BHA president Dilbagh Singh Bakshi said the association was committed to relay the turf, and would host a party for the AstroTurf experts when the job was completed. The BHA was also making efforts to source the shock padlocally, he said.

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Though traces of scepticism remain, experts having come and gone in the past, the fact that Kerr and Cunningham have arrived with heavy equipment, viz the stitching machine, to sew the 22 turf rolls to each other, and the stretching machine, is an indicator to their intentions.

Cunningham seemed all set to roll up his sleeves. “We will need around 12 men to help us. We only hope it is not too hot to work. Otherwise, we may need some beach umbrellas.”

A BHA official estimated the cost of the project could be restricted to under Rs 20 lakh.