Athletics track in ruins in Sports Minister’s area

Dinesh Kanwar

Hamirpur, August 2

An athletics track built at a cost of Rs 9 crore at Kehloor Sports Complex in Bilaspur is in bad shape, thanks to government apathy. Bilaspur is part of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha segment represented by Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

The synthetic track has been rendered useless due to waterlogging in the absence of a proper drainage system. The project was initiated during the Congress regime. The entire work, barring the drainage, was completed in 2019. After the BJP came to power, the remaining work progressed at a snail’s pace.

Local athletes said their dream of having a state-of-the-art synthetic track had been shattered despite the fact that Anurag Thakur represented the constituency.

Rakesh Kumar of Bilaspur alleged the fencing of the complex was unnecessary brought down by the contractor building the drain. Rashmi, an athlete, said since the work got delayed, the track had sunk at many places due to waterlogging following rains.

Sandeep Sankhyan, local Congress leader, said poor quality of the work would only result in wastage of funds. Pardeep Kalia, district sports and youth services officer, said the drainage was being constructed at an additional cost of over Rs 35 lakh. The work would be completed soon and its quality would be ensured, he added.