The renovation work of Tangail stadium hardly sees any prospect of completion within the stipulated time of this month, much to the worry of local sportsmen as several regular tournaments scheduled for the next couple of months are not likely to be held there. PHOTO: STAR

The reconstruction of Tangail Stadium, scheduled to complete by this month, sees very slow progress, making uncertain the holding of several regular tournaments scheduled for the coming months.
On December 20 last year, K Enterprise of Dhaka got a Tk 7-crore work order for construction of eight galleries, drainage system, walkway in front of the gallery, pavilion shed, gates and a 12-foot road surrounding the stadium, earth filling on the field, and setting grills in front of the galleries.
June this year was the deadline to complete the work but about half of the overall works has remained undone so far, said sources of the district sports association.
Visiting the stadium on Friday, this correspondent found that construction of seven out of eight galleries was completed while the earth filling on field and construction of the road surrounding the stadium remained on the halfway.
Works for construction of the walkway and the grill in front of the galleries, gates and pavilion shed are yet to start.
However, Ashrafur Rahman Kajal, owner of construction firm K Enterprise claimed that 80 percent of the total work has already been done.
"We were trying to complete the remaining task by the deadline. If it cannot be completed within the fixed time, we will apply for extension of the work period,” he added.
A Hasan Firoz, secretary of district sports association, said they have arranged the second division cricket tournament on the adjacent eidgah (ground for Eid congregations) due to the ongoing reform works of the stadium.
“The present progress rate of the reconstruction work suggests that the remaining task cannot be completed within next few months. In that case, we will not be able to arrange several tournaments including first division cricket league and upazila football tournament that are scheduled during the coming months of this year,” he added.