CHENNAI: The hockey field on Canal Road in Adyar is all set to get a facelift with Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) planning to increase the ground level and upgrade the complex with a running track along the periphery, washrooms, two-floored indoor gym and a park, at an estimate of Rs 7.7 crore.
“The existing ground is at least six feet below ground level. So whenever it rains, there is waterlogging for at least a week. So, to begin with, we have increased the ground level by filling it with silt extracted from Cooum,” a corporation official associated with the project said, adding they would install movable goal posts, so it can be used for playing football too.
The land spreads across four acres. While half of it will be occupied by the playground, CRRT is constructing a park and a gym in the rest. “We are building a two-storeyed indoor gym with first floor for men and second for women. It can be utilised at free of cost like all our other gyms. Also, there will be an open-air gym setting with equipment like twister, chest press and leg press,” said the official. The park will have a tensile roof, security room, two rest rooms, sump and irrigation facilities.
While the hockey players are happy about the development, they say the authorities should have informed them before starting digging. “Accessing other hockey grounds can prove expensive. Also, this is the only ground with gravel surface, others are turf. We had to stop practice due to this. If we got prior intimation, we would have planned accordingly,” said a regular at Adyar.