The incomplete Kankerbagh Sports Complex in Patna. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, April 25: Kankerbagh Sports Complex — the construction of which began in 1984 — has run a rather lengthy marathon for 27 years but the finishing line may still not be in sight.

Sources said the project, the original outlay for which was Rs 6 crore, was stuck at the starting line during the Lalu-Rabri regime and got the required impetus only after deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi took an interest in it in 2006.

Though much has been completed since then, a lot still remains. Among the incomplete units is an eight-lane, 400m-long synthetic track. At present, in the place of the race track, there is only sand.

Art, culture and youth affairs minister Sukhda Pandey said the completion of the track would take some time as its construction involved technical callisthenics. The “some time” could add up to nearly two years according to sources.

The executing agency for the project is the building construction department, which has already been granted Rs 39,05,98,000. For laying the synthetic track, the building construction department has been asked to start the tendering process. It has been granted Rs 13,71,00,000 in the current fiscal for the project.

Ajoy Kumar Bose, deputy director, youth wing, art, culture and youth affairs department, said a survey of the project was conducted on April 10 this year. Engineers of M/s Arch EnDesign, Lucknow, a private construction company, were also present at the survey.

The survey team had found various loopholes in the project.

“No facility of an electricity house and security guard’s cabin is mentioned in the design. Special lighting on the complex premises, street lighting and beautification of the area between the boundary wall and the outer road should also be done. There is no provision for floodlights in the outer stadium for day-and-night events. Drainage scheme for the complex is also not described,” said Bose.

He added that the current boundary wall was in a precarious state and only five-inch thick. Only on the eastern side, where a new wall has been constructed, it is 10inches in thickness. It needs to be broadened to keep intruders at bay.

Sources said recently, the art, culture and youth affairs department fixed several targets. Remaining work for the indoor stadium, including fabrication of truss and glass fitting, is to be completed by the end of May.

Work for the coaches’ accommodation and a sports hostel, including plastering and marble work, has to be completed by July. However, the framework and glass fitting for the outdoor stadium and pavilion, with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, is still to be done.

A senior official of the department told The Telegraph that it was ironical that while the work for the coaches’ accommodation and the sports hostel is almost complete, the work on the synthetic track is yet to kick off. He said: “Preparing the synthetic track will take at least two years. By that time, the buildings will probably be in need of renovation.”