KOCHI: The Maharaja’s College ground is all set to turn into a sports hub with the construction of a synthetic hockey turf of international standards getting over.
The new turf, built for `9.51 crore and boasting of amenities including floodlights, will not just cater to Maharaja’s students, but will also be open to the general public. State and national-level matches and tournaments may also be hosted on the turf if the proposal of a committee headed by the district collector is approved.
“An expert team of officials from the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) recently visited the facility for inspection. The turf will be inaugurated in a month when we propose to host the state sub-junior and junior boys events there. A request in this regard has been submitted to the State Hockey Association,” Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod told TNIE.
“Work on all the facilities, including water sprinkling system, is over. The official inauguration will be done once the waterlogging issue at one side of the ground is addressed,” he said.
Entry to the hockey turf is located at the Hospital Road, which gets easily waterlogged. The turf has been constructed after raising the land. Currently, one has to wade through the waterlogged section to reach the turf.
Maharaja’s students will be given priority to use the turf. “The public can use it when it’s free by paying a fee fixed by the special committee formed to look into the affairs of the turf. Our goal is also to popularise the game,” Vinod said. The committee is headed by the district collector and includes the mayor, MLA, representatives of the college management and college students.
Maharaja’s College ground was the venue for the just-concluded 28th National Senior Federation Athletics Championships.
The ground, which once hosted many state and national-level hockey championships, turned into a concrete dumpyard after a portion was converted into a working yard of the Kochi Metro.
After completion of the metro line adjoining the college campus in 2017, the grassy ground had been in a dilapidated condition. The modern hockey turf has been built using funds of the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML).
The Sports Council had previously set aside funds for constructing the turf, but the college authorities objected to certain conditions like the ground should be opened to the public as well. Following this, the government scrapped the project.
The proposal for an international-standard hockey turf got fresh impetus when it was included in the CSML city-level advisory forum and approved. Construction was entrusted to the Sports Kerala Foundation.
The college authorities have also prepared a proposal for holding major events, including indoor games. Once this gets government approval, the college ground will turn into a sports hub at the heart of the city, Vinod said.