Bihar Players’ Association president Mritunjay Tiwary presents the petition to state minister of art, culture and youth affairs Sukhda Pandey on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, June 13: Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, the lone cricket stadium in Bihar with facilities to meet international standard, is in for an overhaul. The state sports department has taken up the task to give it a facelift.

Minister of art, culture and youth affairs Sukhda Pandey said: “We are in the process of floating a tender for the renovation of Moin-ul-Haq Stadium. We have already spoken to the department officials in this regard.”

The Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, which in 1996 hosted a World Cup match between Zimbabwe and Kenya, is crying for attention today, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities.

The stadium hosted another international match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in 1993. However, after the 1996 World Cup match, no major cricketing event was held at the stadium.

On Monday, a delegation of Bihar Players’ Association, led by its president Mritunjay Tiwary, met the sports minister and urged her to renovate the stadium. The minister assured the delegation that the department is soon going to float a tender for renovation of the stadium so that it can regain its lost glory.

Apart from renovation of the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, the delegation also asked the minister to instruct the sports department to declare the calendar of the events it will organise in the year. The minister assured the delegation that the sports calendar has already been sent for publication and will be released very soon.

Pandey also assured the delegation that the process for reconstitution and registration of Bihar State Sports Authority is under way and will be completed very soon. The authority had become defunct some years ago because of some internal problems.

Pandey said: “We have held talks with members of Bihar State Sports Authority. They have some problems and as soon as they are sorted out, the process for reconstitution of the authority will begin.”

Once the constitution of the authority is complete, the process for registration will begin. The minister also said construction of 183 stadiums at block levels is going on. These stadiums will not only give a platform to local talents to showcase their skills but also host major tournaments at state and district level. However, the delegation pointed out that there have been complaints of corruption in the stadium project, such as low-quality material being used for construction. Pandey assured the delegation that inquiry into the complaints will be carried out soon.

Tiwary said: “We also urged the minister to constitute a vigilance inquiry into the affairs of Sports Authority of India centre which is in a bad state in Bihar.”

Tiwary said the delegation also requested for the revival of Rajendranagar Physical College, the lone college in Bihar which imparts physical education teaching. The institute, in recent times, has degraded due to lack of interest on part of the state government.

The delegation also urged the minister for timely completion of Kankerbagh sport complex so that enthusiasts can get a chance to train and practice at the complex.