Poor workmanship, leakage surface at under-construction basketball court

The upcoming indoor basketball hall with two courts at Guru Nanak Stadium is facing major delays and quality concerns, with recent rains exposing leakage in the under-construction facility.

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The hall, located adjacent to the existing one, is part of the Smart City Mission and was originally due for completion by March 31 this year. However, after multiple deadline extensions, the project remains incomplete.

The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation fined the contractor Rs 10 lakh in March for the slow pace of work. Union Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu, had also criticised the civic body for not completing the construction on schedule.

Due to the delays, young basketball players have been left to practise on the single existing court, often training during late evening hours due to lack of space.

The leakage has raised concerns about construction quality and whether the facility will be fit for use by the next deadline. Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary general secretary of the Punjab Basketball Association, expressed concern. “This could be due to various factors, such as subpar construction materials, inadequate workmanship, or insufficient quality control measures,” he said.

Dhaliwal feared that the leakage could damage the maple flooring, which had taken a long time to install. He said efforts to contact the civil authorities, contractor and site in-charge had been unsuccessful.