The renovation project for the indoor stadium, which had been in a limbo for almost a decade, was first mooted around the time of a visit by then Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, M.S. Gill, in 2010.
The subsequent delay in the works had been owing to shortage of funds, said an official from the Public Works Department, which had undertaken the work. The renovation project consists of three main components — lighting as per international standards, providing air conditioning and civil components, he said.
Of this, the lighting component has been completed, while the piping work for the air conditioning is on. The civil component includes changing of tiles and flooring in the toilet blocks.
With the work in two toilet blocks having been completed, work on fixtures in the remaining two blocks at the rear of the stadium is under way. There was some small damage during cyclone Thane in 2011. The renovation project has cost around Rs 5.5 crore and all pending work is expected to be completed by May .
P. Karunakaran, secretary, Puducherry Table Tennis Association, has expressed satisfaction over the renovation, saying that the government had managed to get the logistics readied in time for the tournament.
“We were officially given the stadium only on the morning of the commencement of the event,” he said.
