Andrew Amsan – Andrew Amsan
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi is listed as one of India’s first-class facilities by World Athletics. However, no competition has been held at this athletic ground for the last 4 years. No athletic event was held. The reason: After the tracks on which the athletes run in this stadium are prepared, they are submerged in water.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) Rs. 6.50 crore, the project was expected to start in summer 2019 and be completed by 2021. It is Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited [WAPCOS] Handed over to the company. The company is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. But as the project neared completion in 2021, a section of 400 meters of track in an underground tunnel began to cave in.
The tunnel was built during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was only used for the opening and closing ceremonies.
In fact, this issue was among the many deficiencies outlined by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) team that first visited in December 2020, at the request of the Sports Authority of India. The Indian Express has seen a report written by the Athletics Federation of India in this regard. It said, “Filled the crater at the entrance to the VIP gate to make way for a passage that created a gap in the underground tunnel.”
According to an Indian Athletics Federation official, they were consulted only after the initial relay of the track was almost over. We immediately observed waves on the track and informed WAPCOS. But they shrugged it off as nothing. But after a few months, after incessant rains, the track started sinking,” he said.
Responding to a text message from The Indian Express, WAPCOS Chairman and Managing Director Rajini Kant Aggarwal texted back. In which he said, “I request you to contact the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in this regard.” said.
When contacted, the sports commission said in a statement to The Indian Express, “The track-laying work started in 2019 and the work was carried out by WAPCOS, a central government agency. Work is progressing at a good pace and 95 per cent of the work will be completed by 2021. But then, it was discovered that the construction track was sinking below the tracks, as a lot of rainwater seeped into the ground and there was an underground tunnel across the ground.
Therefore, it was decided to suspend the ongoing work and CPWD, which is responsible for the overall maintenance of the JLN ground, was asked to find out the cause of the ground subsidence. CPWD has in turn approached IIT Guwahati for extensive research on the issue. The results of the research are expected soon. Work will resume depending on further findings.” It has been said.
The Sports Commission has given Rs 53 lakh for this research and Rs 6.50 crore to WAPCOS for the construction of athletic tracks.
It was the last athletics competition to be held at the track before the start of renovation work in 2019,” the Sports Authority admitted, adding, “Last year’s athletics nationals were held at the warm-up area of JLN as the athletics federation chose the venue for the competition.
They should have consulted us before starting the work. On our first visit, we found many problems besides the trail. The surface of the long jump pits was uneven. Throwing circles are not perfect and the bottom of the steeplechase pit needs to be replaced. We outlined the tunnel issue a long time ago and I don’t understand why you need an expert panel from IIT to tell you the same,” said an Athletics Federation of India official.
With the turf-relaying program nowhere near complete, the country’s premier venue, which hosted the 1982 Asian Games, continues to remain unused. An evening at this stadium illustrates how underutilized infrastructure affects the training of many elite athletes.
A 5m patch was excavated 250m into the 400m track to reveal the concrete structure below, where the jumping pits became resting areas for the dogs. The carpet area around the track is in disrepair and the throwing area is not ready. Since 2020, the Pole Vault system has been missing.
This has forced athletes, including international medalists, to train on worn-out, congested training tracks outside the main stadium. Hundreds of athletes train at once on a track that has passed its use-by date.
“Lack of good training facilities will ruin the future of young athletes. For every athlete, the goal is to train hard and perform well so that they get selected for the national camp. But if the facilities are not right, they cannot perform well,” Bahadur Prasad, who held the 5000m national record for three decades until Avinash Sable broke it this year, told The Indian Express.
A Junior Asian Championship medalist said his training was badly affected and it was very difficult to fight for a place in the crowded training area. “See for yourself the state of practice, the interior lanes are completely worn out. There are four or five usable lanes that we have to share with hundreds of athletes,” said the junior champion.
For Arjuna awardee Bahadur Prasad, who held the 1500m national record for 23 years until Jinson Johnson broke it in 2018, JLN has a special place in his heart. He trained and attended national camps here on several occasions between 1989 and 1998.
“During my career, all preparatory camps before international meets were held at JLN. And we can practice on both tracks. It is a premier facility and sportspersons working for many government agencies also train here. I don’t know why it’s so late, but it needs to be prioritized. If budget is an issue, increase it. Officials should focus on preparing the track as soon as possible,” said two-time Olympic medalist Bahadur Prasad.
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