After being at the receiving end of brickbats in the days leading up to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for the perceived delay in completing preparatory work at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), the owner of the stadium, can eventually take heart from bouquets it received from the football governing body FIFA just ahead of the kick-off.
A team from FIFA had on Tuesday visited the stadium to inspect floodlights, and their feedback has brought cheer to the development agency.
“Our stadium was found to have the best floodlight system, electrical works, and fire-fighting capability of all the six venues for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. This was communicated to us by Blaine Buck, FIFA inspector for energy and emergency services,” said GCDA Chairman C.N. Mohanan.
He added that the stadium was rated 96% in terms of match preparedness and was spared the red category in grading.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department said the tarring and tile-laying of K.J. Harshan Road and P.C. Road linked to the Veli ground and Parade Ground had been completed. Repair work on Shanmugham Road, Broadway, Goshree Road, M.G. Road, Forsehore Road, Banerjee Road, Fr. Mathew Kothakath Road in Mattancherry, Santo Gopalan Road, Jawahar Road, Kumbalanghi, and Perumppadappu Road has also been completed. P.T. Jacob Road has been strengthened using bitumen concrete, while Maulana Azad Road, dug up for laying water pipelines, has been repaired using bituminous macadam and bituminous concrete (BMBC) technology and by laying tiles, the PWD executive engineer said.
