April 25: The Latasil Playground Development Committee is contemplating a “Judges Field model” for the uplift of the landmark playground.

“We plan to develop the playground on the lines of Judges Field. A proposal to install four floodlights was recently placed before the government. Another project for installation of solar lights across the ground is also in the pipeline. It will save electricity and illuminate the surroundings,” Pulak Mahanta, member secretary of the committee, told this correspondent today.

The Guwahati development department (GDD) in collaboration with Gauhati Town Club had installed floodlights at Judges Field in 2009.

The committee, formed in 1994 at the initiative of a few local clubs and leading citizens of the locality, has twin objectives — preservation of the ground for sporting activities and provision of facilities for budding cricketers.

Over the past four years, the committee has not been able to hold meetings annually, which according to members, has hindered stock-taking and decision-making in terms of the ground’s maintenance and development.

“A nine-member delegation of the committee had even placed a proposal to the member secretary recently for regularisation of the annual meets,” Jagannath Das, an executive member of the committee, said.

According to Mahanta, a meeting was held some 18 months back. “An interim meeting was held a year-and-a-half ago where certain issues were discussed. However, our activities have to be streamlined. We are planning to hold the annual meetings regularly,” Mahanta, who is also the circle officer, Guwahati revenue circle, said. According to the committee’s constitution, the playground is currently out of bounds for non-sporting activities, except Rongali Bihu organised by the Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani in April and Durga Puja by the Latasil Sarbajanin Durga Puja Samity in September/October.

“Two months of a calendar year are booked for these festivals. This is a limitation and affects maintenance. We are thinking about cutting down the reservation period so that the tournaments do not get deferred unnecessarily because of non-clearance of the ground,” he added.

The five-day Bihu festivities of the Sanmilani were over on April 17, but the bamboo structures, not to mention litter, still remain.

“There has been a delay this time around, as the contractor had to go to Dimapur for a few days. But he has promised that the bamboo structure and the litter will be cleared in a day or two,” Rana Goswami, president of the Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani, said today.

The Republic Day venue shift to the Khanapara veterinary field in January had brought a sigh of relief to both the committee and residents of the locality. Nine members of the committee had moved Gauhati High Court last year with a plea to shift the venue from Latasil as it caused damage to the playground.

“The innumerable events, which were shifted from Judges Field since the twin blasts there in 2005, took a heavy toll on Latasil ground. In 1989, then Latasil United Club was paid a compensation of Rs 50,000 for the book fair at the playground,” Atanu Kumar Chowdhury, treasurer of the committee, said.

“Ground maintenance is a problem. Too many tourneys apart from the pressure of fringe matches are taking a toll as well. We have children from the slums and trainees under three coaching centres practising at the ground everyday. Currently, we spend Rs 15,000 for the turf wicket and ground maintenance every year,” Chowdhury added.