The ₹6 crore hockey stadium project the Coimbatore Corporation has been constructing at the R.S. Puram Boys’ School ground has the hockey fraternity worried.
The corporation is laying a synthetic turf for around ₹75 lakh and building gallery at another ₹4 to 6 crore. The move follows a resolution the Coimbatore Corporation Council passed in 2014.
The corporation that began the work sometime ago had now readied the ground for laying the synthetic turf by completing the basic work. Two weeks ago it had laid a rubber-resin surface over a bitumen surface to provide necessary cushion beneath the synthetic turf.
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But the rubber-resin surface had started peeling off the bitumen surface and could be strewn around the place. That is not the hockey enthusiasts only worry, though.
Sources, who The Hindu spoke to, said that the dug earth that was next to the under-construction play area too was a cause for concern as strong breeze was carrying dust from the earthen mounds onto the rubber resin surface.
The dust that settled on the rubber-resin surface would impact the way the synthetic turf was glued. There would be air bubbles and the surface would turn uneven.
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The hockey fraternity members also said that the glue the corporation had planned to use was also of poor quality and may not be a potent adhesive.
If the synthetic turf were to be a reality, it would benefit budding hockey players in The Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Salem and even Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts as none of the districts had a synthetic turf.
It would also help the hockey association host national and international events to help youngsters take up the sport. But the way the corporation was executing the project was like buying and getting ready to paint even before the brick work was complete, they added.
Corporation engineers refused to comment. Senior officials said they would inspect the progress of construction and take remedial action, if necessary.