MCD pitches in to finish turf laying work at stadium

Finding it nearly impossible to finish the work on time, the venue administrator of Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium sought the help of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for laying its turf.

Finding it nearly impossible to finish the work on time, the venue administrator of Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium sought the help of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for laying its turf.

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Sources said the venue administrator of the stadium requested the civic agency at the last minute, asking it to send a team of 50 workers to help them lay the turf.

"The private contractor who had been given the task to lay the turf was taking a lot of time. Fearing that the work might not be completed in time, we were asked to help them out as the work had to be completed by Wednesday morning," said a senior MCD official.

The turf had to be laid again as it had got spoilt due to the stage which was installed for the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on Sunday.

"We sent 50 workers from the horticulture department who worked from 5 pm to 3 am the next morning laying the grass," added the official.

Laying the turf was one of the crucial jobs of the Organising Committee (OC) as it had to be readied for athletics.
The turf, which has been grown at Hapur, has special quality grass to suit the needs of the sporting events.

A large portion of the synthetic track got damaged during the opening ceremony, as the protective covering on the turf was unable to take the impact of thousands of dancers and heavy instrument and equipment placed over it.

The Games organising committee had merely two days to repair the damage as the events were scheduled for Wednesday.