In less than a month, Nepal´s sports fraternity will be in full attendance at Dhangadi and Mahendranagar. The two cities will host the Sixth National Games from February 26 to March 4. This will be one of the biggest events in the region and the Games will be closely followed nationwide.
However, at a time when sports officials should be involved with the nitty gritty, they are said to be busy ensuring timely completion of the sports facilities for the Games. There are media reports, almost every day, that the facilities are being built in hurry to ensure that they are somehow ready by the time the big event is due. Also, these reports hint at substandard materials being used in the constructions.
The two new parapets, newly-laid ground and athletics track at Dhangadi Stadium, and the new cricket ground in Mahendranagar are among the facilities being completed for the Games. Renovation of covered halls and other sporting facilities is being carried out at an accelerated pace in the two cities.
The total budget that the nation is spending on infrastructure and renovation is Rs 50 million and if the money is spent only for the sake of holding the National Games without considering the future of the facilities, it will be a waste of the big buck being spent. It was bad that the budget was released only around six months before the start of the Games thereby giving only limited time for the National Sports Council (NSC). However, if anything is goes wrong, it´s NSC to blame.
The first thing they should be blamed for is lack of planning. To organize such a big event at places, which lack proper infrastructure, needs enough planning and preparation so that basic things such as infrastructure construction is completed long before the start of the event. And, NSC can no way blame the government for delaying the budget, because NSC represents national sports and it´s their responsibility to convince the government for a timely release of the budget for such an important event.
NSC member-secretary Yubaraj Lama claimed there is no possibility that the contractors would use substandard materials as they would not get paid for anything built not accordingly to the terms of the contract. That´s true. However, when constructions are being done in hurry, there is always a possibility that quality will suffer.
The National Games is a big event. More so for players and officials waiting to showcase their talent at the national level and NSC should ensure that the Games are properly held. Not only competing facilities but also other facilities should be of standard. Let´s hope the people of Far West will make it a grand success despite the early hiccups and that NSC learns a few lessons and work accordingly for the future events. The media should be vigilant during and long after the completion of the Games to keep an eye on the facilities and expose wrongdoings, if any.
For now, let´s forget the hiccups and focus on making the event a grand success
