Indoor basketball court hanging fire in Ludhiana

The construction of indoor basketball court, which started in 2023, has missed several deadlines. The basketball court, to come up at a cost of Rs 11.36 crore, is part of the Ludhiana Smart City Mission.

The work order for the project was given in January 2023, with completion expected in July same year. However, the deadline was extended to June 2024 to December. Later, it was pushed to January 2025, March and now May end.

Due to the delay in completion of the project, players had been facing tough time to practice.

As the contractor pushed the deadline for the sixth time, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) imposed Rs 10 lakh penalty on him. Action was taken after MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal went to the site to take stock of

the situation.

Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu had also taken strong note of the unnecessary delay in this project, which had been conceptualised when he was Ludhiana MP.

Teja Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary of the Punjab Basketball Association and former vice-president of the Basketball Federation of India, said though the authorities were claiming that the construction would be over by May 31, it would take another month to install all fitments.

“More than 90 per cent work of the basketball court has already been completed, only the wooden flooring work is pending. Around 200 budding players have been awaiting to play on this state-of-the-art court,” added Dhaliwal.

He said the new indoor court could host two matches at the same time. This upgrade is expected to enhance both training and competition by saving time and allowing more players to participate.

Currently, the single court, which is often crowded, limits the number of players who can use the facility.

An official concerned said one of the reasons for delay was the changes made in the original plan, including the addition of a gallery, which was not part of the project.

The official said even cost of Maplewood flooring had also increased, leading to the decision to install Canadian Maplewood, which offers better quality and cannot be infested with termites. Thus, additional permissions were required that led to the delay.

Dachalwal said they expected the work to be completed by May 31.