Thyagaraj Stadium to miss deadline for sure

After Central Public Works Department (CPWD), it is the turn of PWD to give assurances about finishing projects even as internal deadlines are getting extended.

The PWD’s flagship stadium, Thyagaraj, which was supposed to be ready by December, will now be ready only in February. The delay, said sources, was due to the late start in laying of the specialized wooden flooring at the stadium. The stadium’s eco-green features like the green power plant as well as the solar panels on its surface are the other reasons why the stadium is getting delayed, the sources said.

The delay comes even as PWD minister Rajkumar Chauhan visited the three Delhi government sporting facilities Thyagaraj, Chhatrasal and Ludlow Castle for inspection on Thursday. While Chauhan claimed that work was progressing on time, sources in the department said apart from Ludlow Castle, which was expected to be completed in January, the others would only be ready in February. Incidentally, both Ludlow and Chhatrasal are non-competition venues and will be used for training purposes only. Chuahan however, reiterated that all venues were on schedule, adding that Ludlow Castle would be ready within ‘‘two to three’’ weeks.

A senior government official said, ‘‘the major infrastructural work is over. Now, only the finishing touches are left, which is taking time. The present delay (at the Thyagaraj) happened because a lot of time was spent on awarding the work to the designated company for the maple wood flooring.’’

Thyagaraj, which will be hosting the Test event in March, is the competition venue for Netball. The stadium, which has been touted as the first green stadium in the country, will also be the first government building to use a gas-based turbine for its power needs. Apart from the green turbine it will be powered by PNG from IGL the stadium is also planning to use solar energy on a large scale. ‘‘The roof of the stadium is quite large: 107X185 meters. So around 1MW solar energy is generated every day. This energy will be used within the building,’’ the official said.