The 35th edition of the National Games, of which Kozhikode is also a venue, is hardly six months away. But going by the pace, it seems that a divine intervention would be needed for the works at the EMS Corporation Stadium and Medical College Stadium, major venues of the event, to complete before the Games begin in February 2014.
Corporation Stadium
On a visit to the Corporation Stadium, one is greeted by a huge heap of sand, dug up for the construction of Grand Stand Pavilion. Though Abhiram Infra Projects Pvt Ltd, the Hyderabad-based company which has been entrusted with the construction works at the stadium, has agreed to complete the works in this month itself, it is still progressing at a snail’s pace. The turf-laying of the ground with natural grass could be done only after the completion of the construction works. It is learnt that there was a delay of 40 days on the part of the contractors in commencing the work at the Corporation Stadium. The new building comprises a grand stand pavilion and a two-storey shopping complex. The estimated cost of the project is `19.01 crore. According to N Mohan Kumar, Chief Engineer, National Games Secretariat, the delay occurred in the construction of Grand Stand due to the heavy monsoon rains. Only the ground floor of the building, which is constructed in a depth of 2.5 m, meant for the parking area, has been completed so far.
Medical College Ground
Situation is not different at the Medical College Ground, where the construction of spectator seatings and substation building and laying the turf with Mexican grass are yet to commence. Besides, the works of laying synthetic track, providing internal drain, external drain and peripheral drain, are also tardy. However, the contractor, Gryphons India Construction, has completed the construction of a new three-storey pavilion with facilities including change rooms and toilets for players, media work station and dope-testing rooms. “We have completed the works of building, road, parking area and pump house of the stadium. Besides, we have rectified the errors happened in the construction of the drains,” said Ramakrishnan of Gryphons India Construction. Earlier, the box structure design of the stadium complex had drawn criticism from the district-level monitoring committee of the National Games for its design faults and lack of attraction. “The stadium is one of the best examples for unimaginative construction and irresponsible way of handling public funds. The design errors themselves have delayed the works,” said A Pradeepkumar MLA, chairman of the district-level monitoring committee. He added that the meeting of the district-level monitoring committee to be held on September 7 will chalk out plans to complete the works on time. It is learnt that works of surface and synthetic track-laying of the Stadium had been awarded to a Hyderabadbased firm. One of the major design errors was with the drain that runs parallel to the synthetic track. The redesigning and re-work of the drains were tendered after the flaw was detected. The proposed dormitory on the top floor was first constructed without any entry points. After the fault was pointed out, parts of the completed structure were demolished to connect the dormitory to the ground floor. The stadium complex, comprising residential facilities for 200 players, a health club with modern facilities, VIP lounge, dressing room and a media centre, is estimated to cost `15 crore. Work on the same was inaugurated in August 2010, with a stipulated completion time of seven months. The Kozhikode Beach, which is the venue for beach volleyball, will be readied in a couple of months. N Mohan Kumar, Chief Engineer, National Games Secretariat, told City Express that he had already served a notice to the Abhiram Group, warning that they would be terminated from the awarded work if they failed to speed up their jobs. He added that they would look into the possibilities of awarding supplementary work to another firm so as to complete it in the proposed schedule. “I will come to Kozhikode on September 7 to attend the district-level monitoring committee and discuss the matter with the contractors,” he said. Mohan Kumar expressed confidence that the ongoing works at the Medical College Stadium will be completed on time as the turfing and electrification jobs have been awarded to a Hyderabad-based company, which has promised to finish this without any delay.