Guwahati, Sept. 11: After two days of inspections and discussions with construction firms, the Cycling Federation of India has recommended complete renovation of the top layer of the track in the newly- constructed velodrome for the National Games at Tepesia.
Terming the structural design as satisfactory, CFI secretary general J.S. Grewal today observed that the surface of the track was highly accident-prone and would need a complete renovation.
“The builders have made a complete mess of the track. To make it fit for competitive cycling, the entire top layer of six to eight inches will have to be removed and relaid. Besides, two to three panels must be replaced completely and the gradient of the drain along the track, the flow from which is directed towards the track, must be diverted to the reverse direction,” Grewal said.
“I had pointed out all these in December last year. During my last visit, I had offered to supervise every detail and requested the National Games Secretariat to involve me. However, I was not invited or intimated at any point,” the IIT Kharagpur topper and retired engineer rued.
He had suggested the use of apoxy cement for the top layer but the builders have used ACC cement, which is giving way owing to air bubbles.
He also said the infrastruc-ture, located 25 km from the heart of the city, would be a waste of money “because no cyclist would prefer to carry his or her bicycle all the way to Tepesia for regular practice”.
About the equipment, Grewal suggested that Assam should import alloy frames for the cycles “because these could be repaired in India”. There was no facility to repair carbon frames here, he said.
“It seems Assam is trying to host the Games banking on bureaucrats and government officers, most of whom have never kicked even a football, forget about technical knowledge about cycling or any other sport,” he said.
In a related development, gymnastics competition director D.G. Bawa today denied having termed the cushioning for the maplewood floor in the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Amingaon as “outdated”. He, however, was left clueless when asked if the 6 MIL polythelene cushioning was up-to-date and if the use of high- quality rubber studs cushioning, as in the Sarusajai indoor stadium, was inferior. “We have not used the polythelene cushioning anywhere in India,” he admitted.
