Two tartan tracks being laid in Sindh

KARACHI: Sindh sports department has decided to lay tartan tracks in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, ‘The News’ has learnt.

Work on both projects is being done at a fast pace, a source said and added that the one in Hyderabad would be completed by the end of this year.

A source said that Sindh government was interested in laying a tartan track in Karachi as well. It was looking for a suitable place for this, he added.The only tartan track existing in the province — in Karachi at National Sports Training and Coaching Centre — has completed its life and its replacement has been due for many years.

The athetics fraternity in the province had been demanding for many years the installation of tartan tracks.Officials said that Hyderabad’s tartan track is blue. It is being laid at a public school. Pavilion, washrooms and other facilities have already been established. The place can accommodate as many as 3000 spectators.

The sources said that the Hyderabad tartan track would be inaugurated in January. The second track, which is red, is being laid at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto sports complex in Mirpurkhas.

It would take some months to complete the project, officials said. It might be opened by the middle of the next year. The sources said that all national-level athletics competitions, including the National Athletics Championships could be organised at the two new tartan tracks.

It may be noted here that the coaching centre in Karachi earns Rs4-5 million by renting it to private education institutions for their sports activities. But still the PSB authorities have not bothered to replace it.