Facelift plan for Gitanjali Stadium after 10 years
Times of India | 7 November 2024
12 Kolkata: The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will undertake a Rs 2.9 crore renovation and upgrade project of Gitanjali Stadium. This includes the stands, blocks below them and the pitch. The stadium is situated at Rajdanga off Rashbehari connector in Kasba.
"The govt has approved the project and an agency will soon be engaged to take up the work," said a KMDA official.
Officials said that no comprehensive repair, upgradation, or maintenance work has been done at the stadium in the past three years. This has giving the stadium a dull and shabby appearance from the outside while the interior is poorly maintained. The toilet blocks inside the stadium has to be spruced up and fire-fighting equipment and systems need to be upgraded. The pitch is also bereft of any grass.
"There was a 10-year maintenance contract with an agency which ended in 2021. Since then, the stadium has not had proper maintenance. We will now take up repairs, followed by renovation and painting. Once the facelift is over, the the stadium will look brand new," said an official.
The stadium was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Aug 2011 and was set up on public-private-partnership mode. It has around 4,000 seats.