Olympic-size swimming pool to come up in Chandigarh

The information was shared during first meeting of the newly constituted standing committee of the administrator’s advisory council on sports, Chandigarh, at the Sports Complex, Sector 42, under the chairmanship of Sanjay Tandon on Monday

UT administration has floated tenders for the construction of an international-level multipurpose hall, an Olympic-standard swimming pool and a girls hostel.

Tenders for the construction of an international-level multipurpose hall, an Olympic-standard swimming pool and a girls hostel has been floated by the Chandigarh administration. (HT representative)

The information was shared during first meeting of the newly constituted standing committee of the administrator’s advisory council on sports, Chandigarh, at the Sports Complex, Sector 42, under the chairmanship of Sanjay Tandon on Monday.

The tenders, floated by the engineering department, will be opened on August 18.

The committee further was informed that the tender to convert the Sector 39 swimming pool into an all-weather facility has been allotted, with completion targeted for October 31.

Upgrade works are also in progress at the Basketball Hall in Sector 42, the hockey stadiums in Sectors 42 and 18, and the sports infrastructure at Lake Sports Complex, with the aim of meeting national standards and enabling the city to host more national-level competitions.

An online portal for cash awards to sportspersons has been developed and will be launched on National Sports Day, August 29. A dedicated sports policy for specially abled sportspersons has been prepared and will be rolled out shortly.

Committee members recommended that sports associations be allowed to display sponsor branding free of cost within sports complexes to facilitate the organisation of national and international events, noting that most associations rely heavily on sponsorships. The joint director sports informed that a policy on this is under active consideration and will be finalised soon. He also stated that work is underway on a policy to provide Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ government jobs to meritorious sportspersons.

The committee also commended the newly renovated conference hall at the sports complex, where the meeting was held. The chairman suggested that sports associations be allowed to book the facility for meetings at nominal charges fixed by the department.