Nepal struggles to complete Desarath stadium for 13th South Asian Games

With the 13th South Asian Games scheduled to kick off with its opening ceremony this weekend, the Desarath Stadium is yet to be completed. The Project-in charge for the Dasarath International stadium has blamed the delay on the late assignment of the contract as a reason for the delay.

The games are set to begin on December 1

The Dasaratha Stadium where the opening ceremony of the games is supposed to be held will be the only international stadium in the Himalayan country, but it is still under construction with the work on the parapet still underway. The project-in charge, Sanjeev Kumar Pathak said that the stadium is a design based project and that he and his team are completing the construction within seven months. He added that they have completed 85 per cent of the work and the main problem is the work on the roof that is still underway and is something they might not be able to justify.

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The games have already been delayed and postponed thrice due to the stadiums not being complete. The sounds of hammering, drilling and wielding can still be heard at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato.  A swimming competition is scheduled at the facility for December 5. According to sources, the tiles for the swimming pool floor are yet to be laid, and after being laid they will take at least a week to dry. After the tiles are dried the pool still have to be filled with 900 thousand litres of water which then has to be heated.
While Member Secretary of National Sports Council, Ramesh Silwal had publically announced on November 12 that the swimming pool at the ANFA Complex would be completed by the third week od this month and that Dasarath International Stadium by November 21, but the ground realities seem to be very different.

Games to start from December 1

The South Asian Games are set to take place from December 1 to December 10 and this will be the third time that Nepal will be holding the games. Seven nations have already confirmed their participation in the games. Over 3,000 athletes will take part in the tournament, including 648 from Nepal, 521 from India, 612 from Sri Lanka, and 591 from Bangladesh, 413 athletes from Pakistan, 135 from Bhutan and 332 from the Maldives.

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