Hockey stadium’s both turfs affected by rainwater, need repair

KARACHI: The last week’s heavy rains have left devastating effects on the turfs of Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium.

Both the main blue turf and the smaller green turf have developed wrinkles because there was four feet high water accumulated in the stadium after the downpour.

PHF secretary Asif Bajwa has directed the stadium’s project director Iftikhar Syed to send him a comprehensive report on how much rainwater accumulated in the stadium, sources told ‘The News’ on Friday.

This reporter saw wrinkles all over at the green mini turf, which means it cannot be used even for practice.

While the main turf was not as affected as the green one it also has patches affected by the rainwater. The purple patch of the turf which is not the part of playing field is much affected.

But both turfs need repair work before practice can be started there.

Sources said that stadium officials informed Bajwa of the ruined condition of the turfs on phone.

The stadium’s office remained closed for two days due to the stagnant water.

Iftikhar Syed, when contacted, said that he had examined the condition of both turfs and the entire stadium and sent the report to the PHF secretary on Monday.

He said that due to the poor conditions of the hockey stadium, the staff was not able to work for two days after the rains.

He said that the damage was repairable and both turfs would be fixed properly.

The stadium is lower than its surroundings due to which rainwater gets accumulated there. A new drainage system is needed to prevent the recurrence of such catastrophe.