Indoor stadium yet to see the light of day

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 31

A comprehensive full day review of Pakhowal indoor stadium was taken by the officials here today.

Additional commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ghanshyam Thori said the arena sports floor was expected to be ready by April 2016.

He said: “Currently phase 11 is going on and Rs 18 crore have already been spent on it so far. It involves the work of Rs 40 crore which includes 4,500 seating capacity air conditioning, down ceiling, 14 lifts, interior finishing and service block among other things.”

Rs 25 crore have been spent on Phase I in which civil structure got ready. By April-May 2016 it should be ready for use for sports. MC club and additional club facilities (swimming pool, lawn tennis court among other things) would be taken up in phase III for which funds were to be arranged from the auction of shops in the stadium.

The indoor stadium has already drawn criticism from various corners as its “re-construction” always started in phases. It has been more than 12 years now, but the stadium is yet to see the light of the day.

Various deadlines have been proposed by the authorities but it is nowhere near completion.

Even in 2013, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria had claimed that within a year the stadium would be completed. MC authorities had always claimed that finance was not a problem but since the project was lingering on for several years, the cost of construction had shot up to about two times.

The construction of the stadium started in 2004, but the construction was stalled in 2007 only to resume again in May 2010.