Astroturf stadium in Karnal by August-end

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 29

A state-of-the-art AstroTurf hockey stadium that could host matches even at the night is set to come up in Karnal by the end of August this year. Being constructed at a cost of around Rs 14 crore under the Karnal Smart City initiative on around six acres on the Kailash-Kunjpura road in the city, the AstroTurf is being brought from Netherlands, which is expected to arrive in two weeks.

This stadium was promised by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who is also an MLA from Karnal Assembly segment.

Civil works completed

We are hopeful the stadium will be functional by the end of August. The AstroTurf has been dispatched from the Netherlands and is expected to arrive here in two weeks. The base to lay AstroTurf has already been prepared. Anish Yadav, DC-Cum-CEO, KSCL

As per officials associated with the project, a majority of the civil works has been completed and the budding hockey players will be able to use the stadium facilities soon. The stadium is being constructed as per norms of the Hockey Federation of India in consultation with the Sports Department of Haryana.

The ground measures 99.4×61 metres, which is an international standard, said Mukesh Sharma, SDO, Karnal Smart City Ltd (KSCL), the company looking after the Karnal Smart City project.

“The civil work of the ground and spectator gallery is going on in full swing while the work on the front boundary wall, installation of grills and interior work of rooms for players and coaches will be done in coming days,” he added.

Floodlights have been installed around both main and practice grounds, said Anish Yadav, Deputy Commissioner-cum-CEO, KSCL.

“We are hopeful the stadium will be functional by the end of August. The AstroTurf has been dispatched from Netherlands and is expected to arrive here in two weeks. The base to lay AstroTurf has been prepared by the agency,” said Yadav.

Pipelines to irrigate both practice and main grounds along with drainage systems have been installed, the CEO said.

Renu Bala Gupta, Mayor, Karnal Municipal Corporation, said the city was being developed on the pattern of Smart City under which various steps were being initiated. “This hockey stadium was announced by the CM on the demand of local residents. It will help in nurturing the budding hockey players as they will get facilities of international standards soon,” Bala said. The stadium has direct connectivity from Karnal-Indri state highway and Karnal-Kunjpura road, she added.

“The area doesn’t have any ground facility. We are thankful to the CM for providing this facility to players in our area,” said Naveen Kumar, Deputy Mayor and councillor of the ward.