Ranchi/Jamshedpur, Jan. 17: The 34th National Games, scheduled to be held in Jharkhand from February 15 after a series of postponements, has been rescheduled once again for June as the new stadiums and related sports infrastructure aren’t ready yet.

This, coupled with the uncertain political climate of the state, sealed it for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) which has now looking at June 1–14 as the new dates.

The postponement is a huge blow to Jharkhand which was banking on the games to shore up its image and prove to the nation that it was capable of hosting a mega national event.

However, incompetent political leadership and poor monitoring of the construction work at the ambitious games village at Hotwar and other venues across the state, left no one in doubt that the games were heading for yet another postponement.

At a meeting today in New Delhi, chaired by IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and attended by officials of both the IOA and the Jharkhand Olympic Association (JOA), the ground realities of Jharkhand were discussed threadbare.

Confirming the decision, IOA director A.S.V. Prasad said given the situation in Jharkhand and with the sports infrastructure yet to be ready, it was easy to come to the decision.

“What can the IOA do if the required infrastructure is not complete?” Prasad said over telephone from New Delhi.

JOA president R.K. Anand said the games could not have been held in an incomplete stadium. “Things are clear. Games are not going to held in February. It will take some time to put the required infrastructure in place,” he added.

Even the Birsa Munda Stadium at Morabadi, the venue for football and rugby, would not have been ready for the games. “The playing surface will take a month-and-a-half to be ready,” commented a senior state sports official.

S.M. Hashmi, the organising secretary of the National Games Organising Committee (NGOC), however, preferred not to dwell on the delays and focussed on the political uncertainty as the main reason behind the shift. “Though we were ready to hold the games, the political uncertainty made it difficult to beautify the city and prepare roads,” he claimed.

The state’s sports fraternity, however, remained sceptical. “We don’t think infrastructure would be ready by then. Moreover, June is the peak of summer and isn’t exactly the best time to hold sports events,” said a Jamshedpur–based sports official.

Now, the NGOC is likely to face flak for having invited several sports officials from across the country to hold preparatory meetings, keeping the February 15 date in mind. All these meetings will have to be held all over again.