The 10th National Games, which have been postponed four times due to the incomplete construction of the Karnali Province Stadium in Surkhet, are in limbo.
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The construction of the Karnali Stadium, which is considered the main venue for the 10th National Games, is one percent complete. It has been almost two years since the contractor company stopped working on the stadium, which is almost 99 percent complete. But the contract has neither been extended nor canceled. Due to which the deadline for the 10th National Games has been postponed repeatedly and has become uncertain.
The stadium is the first pride project of the Karnali Provincial Government. In 2078 Mangsir, MAC/GSL JV signed an agreement with the Karnali Provincial Sports Development Council for the construction of the stadium, which is spread over an area of 9 bigahs. The deadline for the stadium, the construction of which began within 30 months, was until 2081 Jestha. However, after the contractor company requested it, citing problems such as the Corona pandemic, shortage of construction materials, and lack of skilled manpower, the deadline was extended by one year in 2081 Mangsir.
‘But the term of the then member secretary and other office bearers expired during that period. According to the public procurement regulations, the contractor side should have requested the council for an extension of the term with reasons within 6 months of the expiry of the term,’ said Devi Prasad Paudyal, Information Officer at the Ministry of Social Development. ‘When the council was dissolved, the contractor side was not able to submit an application for an extension of the term. Now, 16 months have passed since the expiry of the term, so there is a legal obstacle to terminating the contract and extending the term.’ According to him, now the remaining work includes blacktopping the entrance of the stadium, final painting, electricity and water supply. He informed that the contractor company is yet to receive payment of about 90 million rupees.
The work on the provincial stadium has been stalled after the Karnali Provincial Sports Development Council has been without leadership for a long time. The term of the then member secretary of the council, Vishwamitra Sanjyal, and other office bearers ended on 2081 Paush 6. But after just 15 months, on Chaitra 12, the Karnali government appointed Rabindra Chand and other officials as member secretary. 'Since my appointment, I have been trying to complete the work of the stadium quickly. Discussions have been held with various bodies repeatedly,' he said. 'We have not yet reached a conclusion on the extension of the deadline.'
The stadium, built according to FIFA standards, has a parapet that can accommodate about 10,000 spectators. According to IAAF standards, the stadium has an 8-lane synthetic track, media, referee, changing, refresh and medical rooms, physiotherapy, VIP waiting room, as well as underground parking, said Member Secretary Chand. According to him, a multi-purpose covered hall with a swimming pool and a capacity of 1,500 spectators has been built inside the stadium. He informed that volleyball, handball and other games can be played in it. According to him, 40 shutters have also been removed from the stadium for commercial purposes. The Karnali government is preparing to play 24 out of 35 national competitions in this stadium.
The federal government has been postponing the dates for the national games four times. Initially, the dates for the competition were set for 1-8 Mangsir 2081, the second time for 23-30 Chaitra 2081 and the third time for 3-10 Jestha 2082. During the tenure of the then Sports Minister Bablu Gupta, it was decided to hold the competition for the fourth time from 1-7 Falgun 2082. However, due to the House of Representatives elections, the government decided to hold the competition at a suitable time after the elections, 6 days after the scheduled date. But a new date has not been fixed yet.
Nishan Khadka, a taekwondo player from Surkhet, said that they were disappointed when the competition was postponed repeatedly. ‘National Games are a great opportunity for athletes, we want to show our talent,’ he said, ‘but even when the National Games are about to be held in our own province, the provincial government is silent, there is neither training nor is there continuity of practice on the part of the government to encourage the athletes, how long will we continue training with our own investment?’
Volleyball player Yagya Oli, who has played in the national games, complained that district-level competitions have now stopped. ‘Right now, closed training should be held in almost all districts, practice games should also be played at the municipal level,’ he said, ‘there is neither activity of the province nor the local government’s concern. This seems to mean that Karnali will lose medals in many games even when playing in its own province.’ Social Development Minister Ghanshyam Bhandari claimed that the remaining work of the provincial stadium will be completed within a week. Last week, Federal Finance Minister Swarnim Wagl had said in his budget speech that budget has been allocated for the 10th National Games.
