Faridabad synthetic athletics track inaugurated, not open for use

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, January 15

The synthetic athletics track at the district sports complex here is yet to be thrown open for use though it has already been inaugurated. Built at a cost of Rs 8.80 crore, it is the first such facility in the district.

It took more than a year for the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to lay the track. It was formally inaugurated by Industries Minister Vipul Goel on Friday.

An iron grill enclosure has been put up around the track for its safety. The gates of the enclosure were found locked on Tuesday morning with no player around.

Mary Masih, District Sports Officer, said the track was yet to be formally handed over to the Sports Department by the HSVP. The track required some finishing work, which was to be done by the department concerned, she said.

Rajeev Sharma, Executive Engineer, HSVP, claimed that the track was ready for use though the department had been asked to lay a ditch outside the enclosure for draining out extra water from the field.

He said it would be ready in a couple of days, but it was not a condition for use of the track. The official handing over of the track was yet to be done, he admitted.

Work on the track was taken up in 2017 and the ground was still not available for use by budding sportspersons, said a trainee on the condition of anonymity.

He said though a synthetic track was the need of the hour, it had taken quite a long time, forcing players to switch to other options.

With around 250 athletes using the complex for practice and training on a regular basis, the department had provided three coaches.

The sports complex was short of coaches for lawn tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, handball and kabaddi. There had been no coach for lawn tennis for the past 10 years.