Tsirang’s Astro Turf football pitch, which is now the venue for the district’s major public events, is getting a facelift. New structures for the convenience of organisers and spectators alike are under construction. The district administration is spending around Nu 9 M for the works.
Two new structures have come up next to the pavilion which was also refurbished.
At the moment, works are ongoing to roof the public gallery expected to accommodate over 500 people.
“During national events, we have to arrange temporary shelters. This adds cost to the government. It also requires extra hands. So in order to cut down such costs, we decided to construct permanent structures,” said Tshewang Tenzin, the Principal Engineer for Damphu Municipal Office in Tsirang.
The development works include the extension of the grounds for pitching tents. The parking will be made more spacious as well.
“We are extending both sides of the pavilion to accommodate around 10-12 tents. We also extended ground parking by filling up the gullies. We have already laid underground soil waste pipe and so over the top, we are filling it up with sand and levelling it,” he added.
The district administration is also planning to construct a futsal ground, two volleyball courts and a cafeteria in the area during the next financial year.
The project to develop the public ground began in August last year and was due this April. However, it got delayed by a month due to unavailability of raw materials following the lockdown in India.
Tsirang district is the first recipient of an artificial turf football ground outside Thimphu in June 2016. The artificial turf was constructed at a cost of Nu 50 M and was funded by FIFA.
Pema Tshewang
