Gurugram, March 29 (IANS): The dream of hockey players in Gurugram to play hockey on the Astroturf field is soon going to be fulfilled.
The new Astroturf at Nehru Stadium located at Civil Lines has been installed at Rs 7.79 crore.
The officials said preparations are being finalised in the international-level Astroturf field. To ensure that all the work is completed as per the set targets.
Deputy Commissioner Gurugram, Nishant Kumar Yadav inspected the Astroturf ground on Friday and gave necessary directions to the concerned officials and the agency related to the construction.
"The work on the much-awaited Astroturf ground in Gurugram was started on March 14 last year. Which is now ready. Some finishing work is still left on the Astroturf which will be completed in the next few days," Yadav said.
Yadav further said that to protect this new turf from waterlogging during the rainy season, the existing ground has been raised by about two and a half feet. This new Astroturf prepared at the hockey ground in Gurugram will give a new direction to the game of hockey players. With which they will be able to bring glory to the country in international sports competitions.
With the construction of this new Astroturf in Gurugram, that golden era of hockey in Haryana, especially in Gurugram, is going to return.
Deputy Director of Sports Department Giriraj Yadav said that this ground is 91.40 meters long and 55 meters wide, while 6 sprinklers have been installed in it, which cover a distance of 45 to 50 meters.
Astroturf requires constant water, for this, a water tank has been built near the field. The sprinklers are so powerful that the entire field can be sprinkled with water in 7 to 10 minutes, he said.
"Sitting arrangements for about 35 to 40 players have been made in three directions of the field. An iron net of about 15 feet has been installed around the field. Earlier more than 150 hockey players used to practice hockey here which is now around 80. This number will increase further after the introduction of this new Astroturf in Nehru Stadium," District Sports Officer (DSO), Ramnivas told IANS.