Swimmers and coaches clean up the Khuman Lampak swimming pool in Imphal on Friday. Picture by Robert Sapam

Imphal, June 29: Swimmers and coaches donned the mantle of cleaners to clear the swimming and diving pools at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex here, in the absence of regular caretakers.

Eight-and-a-half years after Imphal hosted the 5th National Games in 1999, the infrastructure built at the time is cutting a sorry figure because of an acute shortage of staff.

Not only the swimming pools, many other structures that are in regular use leave a lot to be desired as far as maintenance is concerned.

The electronic scoreboard at the hockey stadium also bears a neglected look.

Broken tiles in the swimming pool bear testimony to the neglect and the other stadiums in the complex badly require cleaning.

Sources said the swimming pool urgently requires staff to maintain the filtration plant. In their absence, swimmers who undergo regular coaching are cleaning up the pool every month.

An amount of Rs 1.4 lakh per year is needed to procure chemicals in treating the water in the pool but shortage of funds hampers maintenance here, too. An official in charge of the pool said the constant transfer of the director of youth affairs and sports is affecting the maintenance of the sports complex.

According to reports, since its inception in 1980, 27 directors have been appointed.

The longest that any director has stayed in office was three years and five months, while the shortest tenure was of two months.

The secretary of the Manipur Hockey Association, Th. Manihar, said the electronic scoreboard in the hockey stadium is now in a state of disrepair.

Manihar expressed his desire for a multipurpose gymnasium in the stadium and the renovation of the changing rooms and toilets.