Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) is all set to acquire a feather in its illustrious cap as the first-ever 400-metre synthetic athletic track in Andhra Pradesh will be ready at its campus by Sankaranti (mid-January).
The effort to lay the eco-friendly track began in the first week of December and 80 per cent of the work has been completed with the mix of imported polyurethane adhesive and recycled rubber granules.
“The track will consist of three layers from the surface and all the precautions have been taken for a bubble-free track,” said Jaya Rao, engineer from Great Sports Infra, which is executing the work allotted by National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC).
Mr. Rao said once laid, the track would withstand the vagaries of nature and just cleaning the dust and mud was required.
“A track well-laid will lost for 15 to 20 years. After that we need to relay the top layer.”
The surface is connected to the drain and the rain water will flow towards it. The inside drain is connected to an outlet adjacent to the track. The island will have a football track.
“The entire 8,200-square metre circle is carefully rolled and levelled giving provision for the slopes. We have achieved 98 per cent result in this effort,” Mr. Jaya Rao pointed out. Helping dozens of workers are two experts from Malaysia, who have the experience of laying synthetic athletic tracks in various part of Asia.
“The track will look blue after the completion. There are two colours in vogue and the other is brown,” said ANU physical education department Dean Y. Kishore.
“The track will accommodate eight lanes and there is also a provision for nine lanes for 110-metre hurdles.”
As many as 72,000 kg of polyurethane and 80,000 kg of rubber granules are used and the basic materials are brought from Germany.
ANU, which hosted several national-level athletic meets, will stage the prestigious senior national athletic championship, the biggest meet of the national federation calendar, in May on the brand-new track.
Total cost
The total cost of the project is Rs 6.86 crore with the Central government (Rs. 5.50 crore) and university (Rs. 1.36 crore) sharing the expenditure.
