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It has been more than three years since the main 400-meter oval track at Delhi’s iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (JNS) was closed down for the purpose of re-laying. The eight-lane track's synthetic surface had become worn-out .
Surprisingly, the stadium, under the jurisdiction of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), is still under construction. The reason is quite shocking.
Due to the faulty base-work done, a large portion of the track has been damaged again on the back straight as well on the home stretch. Since the track has become uneven, renovation work is still in progress and the area is closed for general practice.
The renovation work was also closed down partially due to the lockdown in 2020, caused by the COVID outbreak.
While the main 400m track is still under repair, the football pitch inside the oval is being used for practice and competition. Sandip Pradhan, Director General of SAI, wasn’t available for a comment on the completion of the track work.
An AFI official familiar with the development explained the situation on Tuesday.
“Even the long jump and javelin throw runways don’t meet the technical specifications of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to conduct competition.”
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium's troubled history
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was renovated in 2008 for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Apart from the opening and the closing ceremonies, the track and field events of the 2010 CWG were also held at the JNS. The venue is the hub of athletics in the region.
A national-level athletics coach informed about how this situation came to be.
“The main track was damaged before it could be put to use in 2010 as the base-work was faulty. Then the track was hurriedly repaired to conduct the 2010 CWG athletics competition.”
According to a member of the technical panel constituted by SAI to oversee the repair work, tenders were floated by the organisation to relay the synthetic layer and not base-work.
“In 2010, the foundation work was sub-standard and needed to be repaired before relaying the top synthetic layer. An underground tunnel runs from the eastern side of the track to the west and is the main cause of damage. To check for further damage, the tunnel should be permanently closed.”
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was part of the 2010 Delhi CWG legacy and it becomes a talking point whenever athletics competitions are conducted in Delhi. Last year, three national-level competitions sanctioned by AFI were conducted at the warm-up ground as the main track was under renovation.
Since the main eight-lane synthetic track is closed for public, the upcoming Delhi State Athletics Championships from Thursday will be conducted at the adjoining warm-up track.
The athletics coach expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs at the venue.
“Even the warm-up track is also worn-out and not suitable for competition or practice."
