Jamshedpur, June 16: The construction of a 250-bed sports hostel for the 34th National Games has run into rough weather once again.

JMM supporters led by Laltu Mahto, the nephew of former deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahto, stalled the levelling work yesterday near Anil Sur Path in Kadma.

The district administration had earmarked about four acres of land for the hostel at the Kadma site.

The state has already allocated Rs 1 crore for construction of the hostel, which will help accommodate several athletes coming here to compete in four events — boxing, women’s football, weightlifting and archery.

Trouble began after workers began levelling the site in the morning with a payloader. Mahto and two other JMM activists reached the spot and forced the workers to stop work. They claimed that the land was riyati and belonged to one Kush Mahto, not the state administration.

It is the second occasion when construction of the hostel has been disrupted. Earlier, residents of Chandinagar near MGM Medical College and Hospital, led by former land reforms and revenue minister Dulal Bhuiyan’s sibling Baldev, had created problems for the district administration, arguing that the land belonged to six individuals.

Bhuiyan, also a JMM MLA from Jugsalai, had earlier suggested that government land along NH-33 be used for construction of the sports hostel. But he opposed the same in Chandinagar.

Tata Steel had handed over the leased land back to the state for facilitating construction of the sports hostel.

Kartik Kumar Prabhat, the Dhalbhum sub-divisional officer, said the district administration was keeping a watch over the whole thing and would initiate steps to resume construction.

“The land belongs to the state. We had earmarked it for the hostel after going through necessary formalities. It is not private property,” he said.

Sudhir Mahto, however, backed his nephew. He said the land was indeed riyati. He, however, quickly added that the matter would be looked into in details. On his nephew’s role, he said Laltu was called by people who claimed ownership to the land.