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Work to relay track at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak Stadium begins
While the work relaying track continues, no competitions of any sports activities will be hosted at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana
Sports activities at the Guru Nanak Stadium will take a halt for the upcoming six months as the work to relay the athletic track at the main ground of the stadium commenced on Thursday.
During the period, no competitions of various sports activities will be hosted while around four batches of sportspersons, who receive training regularly will also be shifted to different facilities in the district and outside.
The athletic track which was laid in 2001 was in a poor state for the last six to seven years, it was worn out at several places and had developed bumps and bubbles making it difficult for sportspersons to perform during tournaments, and practice sessions.
The ₹8.21 crore project to lay the athletic track at the stadium was formulated under the smart city project around five years ago.
Punjab sports department athletic coach Sanjeev Sharma who also coordinates the events at the stadium said as the digging work to remove the 400m long existing synthetic track has been started by the construction company, the practice venues for the players who receive regular training will be moved to other places. Out of four batches, one will be shifted to Satish Chandra Dhawan Government College and one to the Punjab Agriculture University.
He added that no events will take place at the stadium which regularly hosts zone-level, state-level championships of various games, including kabaddi, hockey and athletics while the work is in progress.
Notably, the final ceremony of the state-wide “Punjab Khed Mela” was also held here and has hosted state-level athletic meets in the past. The long pending replacement of the athletic track was affecting the performance of the athletes participating in various sports events including triple jump, long jump etc.
Budding athletes rejoice
Several players bracing for state-level and national championships shared their joy over the start of the work after a long delay. Eighteen-year-old runner, Tushar Khajuria said even as he started taking regular training at the age of nine, he had dropped the game due to health conditions. He said that he has started doing practice regularly and the new track will benefit hundreds of players like him.
A construction company official said the work would require complete isolation which is why the entry of the sportspersons and the public at the site will have to be barred.
