IPL Stadium in battle against time

Work underway on war footing; team of officials assessing progress every few days

IPL Stadium in battle against time

Work underway on war footing; team of officials assessing progress every few days

Hundreds of labourers are scurrying to finish work on the new international cricket stadium in Gahunje, a village
35 km from the city, in time foru00a0 IPL-4. The tournament will begin on April 8 and end on May 28.

Huge machines have been installed at the stadium and labourers are working round-the-clock to raise the gallery stands and put a green cover on the ground.

Come on, let's make it fast: A stadium committee is reviewing
progress every few days at the new cricket stadium coming up in
Gahunje village. Pic/Atul Marwadi

The upcoming stadium will be the home ground for the Sahara Pune Warriors team that will play its first IPL this season.

Although the work is on in full swing, doubts are being raised if it will be completed before or on the deadline set, which is March 2011.

However, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and Sahara management officials are confident that the work will be completed in time and some matches of the IPL season 4 will be hosted by Pune.

Difficult-to-reach Gahunje is surrounded by hills all over and it is difficult to reach there. The access road to the stadium has also not been laid.

From the city, it takes a half-hour to reach Kivale village, where the Pune-Mumbai Expressway starts. From here, one has to travel 3 km more on a kaccha road that leads to the international ground. From Mumbai side too, one has to reach Kivale to get to the stadium site.

Riyaz Bagwan, a spokesperson for MCA, said: "A stadium committee has been formed to look at these issues.
u00a0
This committee has some plans for the access road to the stadium, but that cannot be disclosed right now."

Review meetings
According to sources, the senior officials from stadium management team are visiting the site every 10 days.

They are reviewing the work completed and other scheduled tasks. Similarly, the Sahara officials are also assessing the situation every 15 days.

Bagwan maintained that the ground would be ready before the IPL season 4. "In a recent meeting of the MCA and other members, a review of the work was done and we are confident of finishing the work before the deadline. We can't say if it will be over in February, March or April, but it will be done in time," Bagwan said.

Work in progress
The stadium will be built in the style of an amphitheatre to provide maximum visibility to the spectators. It will have 15 wickets, of which five will be used for playing, while others will be for net practice and other smaller matches. Four big lights and LCD screens will be put up.

The work on the sand-based ground is in progress (see box). The sand has been spread on the ground and the levelling work is to be completed soon. Tufts of green grass can be seen emerging from the middle of the ground.

For the spectator gallery, cement blocks prepared outside the site are being fixed at the place. The stadium will be able to house 55,000 spectators and will have four stands, including a members pavilion and a media stand.

Construction of squash and badminton courts, swimming pool, spa, restaurants and bars, corporate hospitality boxes, residential quarters and parking lot for more than 5,000 cars and two-wheelers are also underway.