A hive between towers three and four at the main athletics stadium in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Jan. 29: With the 34th National Games round the corner, the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium in Hotwar is a beehive of activity.

Scores of uninvited winged guests accommodated in some two dozen giant hives have returned to haunt the Rs 135-crore facility, giving the National Games Organising Committee nervous nights barely a fortnight before the sporting extravaganza.

So far, the authorities have spent Rs 1 lakh to take the sting out of these unwanted visitors, but in vain.

“Every time we clear the hives, the bees return and in larger numbers. We have lost count of our attempts to drive them away. Even a month ago we had burnt them with mashals (torches), but they returned in 10 days flat,” said Sunil Kumar, a worker at the athletics facility in the Mega Sports Complex.

The Birsa Munda stadium, which has a capacity to seat 35,000 spectators, will host the gala opening and closing ceremonies on February 12 and 26, respectively.

If NGOC officials are to be believed, the ceremonies will be a class apart with spectacular fireworks and laser shows.

Over 12,000 VVIPs, athletes and sports officials are expected to descend on the venue to witness the mega events.

“The huge rush is a cause of major concern. If by mistake, a hive is disturbed, chaos will reign supreme during the ceremonies,” said Rakesh Kumar Singh, an NGOC official and in-charge of the Mega Sports Complex.

A week ago, two women were stung by bees while they were working in the upper gallery of the main stadium. “Both are critical and on leave. The incident has triggered fear and no one wants to go near the hives now,” said Sunil Kumar.

According to labourers, some of whom hail from nearby areas, the bees that have laid siege to the stadium are of a more poisonous breed than the regular honey bee.

“These are bigger in size and leave behind the sting,” a worker said, adding that it was next to impossible to fight them during the day. “At night, they are less active and attempts can be made to remove their hives.”

Special sports secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni, who is also the official spokesperson of NGOC, explained that the Mega Sports Complex was built on forestland and the problem was natural.

“Also, it has jungle patches in the vicinity. This is why they keep coming back. We tried burning the hives, but that did not help. Now, we have to think of alternatives,” he said.