The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has expressed disappointment about the poor maintenance of the Nehru Stadium that hosted German giant Bayern Munich football team recently against the Indian side.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the acting president of the IOA, Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, blamed both the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Union Sports Ministry, for the “filth and dirt'' on the seats that had to be cleaned by the spectators, both Indian and foreign.
He was sarcastic in his remark that it was SAI's way of promoting sports tourism. “Instead of seeing Incredible India, the foreigners witnessed the worst,'' he said.
Prof. Malhotra recalled his warning in October last year that the Nehru Stadium, refurbished at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore was turning out to be the ‘most expensive junkyard in the world'.
He pleaded with the Sports Ministry to put the house in order and focus on the maintenance of the other expensive stadia as well.
