New Delhi: Athletes training at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the Capital were shocked as they entered the nation’s premier sports venue on Monday morning. A pile of garbage was strewn all across the main athletics track and the stands following Punjabi icon Diljit Dosanjh’s two-day concert.
The track had been closed for 10 days because of the musical event and is likely to be shut for a few more days as the organisers clean up the mess. Several athletes training for the Junior National Championships and other domestic events shifted to the worn out warm-up track outside the main stadium. They said their preparation has been hit.
On Saturday, Hindustan Times reported that athletics equipment belonging to the trainees had been damaged by the organisers. A video with HT showed locks were broken and hurdles dumped in a corner. Worse still, when the trainees on Monday reached JLN Stadium – it is owned by Sports Authority of India – they were dejected at the sight of beer bottles, plastic, food and trash littered all over by fans who attended Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati tour.
“It was such a bad sight. We worship this place and see what they have done?” said sprinter Ajit, who is preparing for the junior nationals in Odisha, which was postponed last week due to Cyclone Dana. The All India Police Championships is also scheduled for next month.
“We tried cleaning up the place but it was not possible,” said the Delhi state and School Games Federation of India medallist.
Another Delhi sprinter Rahul Raj Mahato said it was difficult to train on the outside warm-up track as it is old and worn out. “You can see the base. There is a chance of injury. They (concert organisers) damaged our hurdles. Who will pay?”
Beant Singh, a Youth Asia 800m champion was seething. “We enter the stadium after taking a bow. This is the respect we have. We take care and clear debris. It is not meant to hold a party. How can elite athletes train here?”
“There is also the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, but can they host a concert in a cricket stadium? They will never be allowed,” said the 16-year-old.
The JLN Stadium was the centrepiece of the 1982 Asian Games and was renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The venue has already been stripped of its status as a Class 1 facility by World Athletics as the synthetic track was not re-laid as per norms and developed a “depression”. SAI carried out minor repair work and reopened it for training. SAI, whose headquarters is in the premises, had de-notified it as a National Centre of Excellence.
According to SAI, 70,000 people attended the concert over two days. “The stadium is expected to be cleaned up by 29th. SAI’s contract with the organisers states that they will return the stadium to SAI in the same way it was handed over to them,” SAI said.
When HT visited the venue after the first day’s concert, there were no bins in place. “No dustbins could be seen at the venue and so most people had simply thrown pizza boxes, food, water bottles and empty beer bottles. Waste items were thrown on the track, which had not been covered by the organisers,” said Meharpreet Kaur, 29, who attended Saturday’s concert.
The stadium premises is let out by SAI for sports and non-sports events as per a Public Private Partnership model to generate funds.
“You look at the SAI website, the stadium is always booked for private events. It is being only used for commercial purposes and not for sports. Even the warm-up area is sometimes given out to private bodies for events. It is difficult to get dates to even hold state meets,” an official said.
SAI said the venue was given for the concert as no camps were being held. “The only athletes who come for sports practice in JLN are of the Come and Play scheme, which is for children who are just starting out. No elite, junior or sub junior athletes train in JLN,” said SAI. Coaches disagree.
“Athletes from Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and even Rajasthan and Bihar train here. Outstation athletes stay in rented accommodation nearby. It’s a lifeline for so many elite, budding and para athletes,” said a coach.
(With inputs from Jasjeev Gandhiok)
