Whenever the Dashrath Stadium play host to international tournaments, especially football, one can see a marked improvement in its basic facilities like toilet rooms and lighting system. Had it not been mandatory, the local organisers wouldn’t have cared much to clean the toilet or put bulbs and other required accessories in place. The reason: the repeated incidents of theft during and after any such tournament.

As Nepal prepares to host the 13th South Asian Games on December 1-10, the National Sports Council is planning to put such accessories at the stadium in Tripureshwor only few days before the multi-event meet kick off to stop such occurrences. The top sports’ governing body says it would complete the renovation and maintenance of the facility by October 1. The stadium is scheduled to host opening and closing ceremonies.

“Things like lights, taps and others such accessories will be installed late on because of our past experience. Such accessories have gone missing within days of putting it in place in the past,” said Arun Upadhyaya, the chief of engineering section at the Sports Council.

Athletes have been unable to train seriously at the stadium and the adjoining Council premises ever since the 2015 earthquake which severely damaged the facility. Besides, as many as two dozens of labourers employed to undertake the maintenance activities at the premises have been living there at temporary huts.

Upadhayaya was confident that the Games would not be compromised due to the infrastructure glitch, saying that most of the works at the stadium are in the final phase and will be complete by October 1. Upadhayaya informed that the new synthetic track has already been put in place, maintenance of floodlights and scoreboard has already been complete while preparing general parapet was also a done deal.

“But works of instilling pillars, roof and seats at the VIP parapet as well as putting false ceiling, polishing and smoothing of floors at the covered hall are currently underway. The Council is importing tensile fabric roof from China and steel pillars from India,” said Upadhayaya.

The Chinese government had constructed the existing synthetic track, scoreboard, floodlights and sound systems of the Dashrath Stadium for the eighth South Asian Games in Kathmandu in 1999. It took the responsibility of maintaining and upgrading it all for the impending Games as well. China put in new scoreboard and synthetic track at the stadium but only repaired the floodlights. It is awaiting the construction of the roof at the VIP parapet so as to fit in the digital sound system in place. “Fitting speakers will not take long time as every other thing is in its place and once the roof is ready, they will fix it in no time,” informed Upadhyaya.

National Sports Council Member Secretary Ramesh Kumar Silwal said vice President Pitambar Timsina and Nepal Handball Association President Tej Gurung had gone to India to take stocks of proper pillars. The duo finalised the deal and the steel pillars will arrive within the next 7-10 days, said Silwal. Silwal is himself visiting China to ensure the quality of the tensile fabric roof. “It may take a bit longer for the order to arrive from China but we will try to fast-track the process,” said Silwal, adding that works at the covered hall was at its final stage.