[Chukhu Indu]
ITANAGAR, 2 Mar: A staggering crowd of nearly 30, 000 gathered to witness the musical night of the Statehood Day celebration on 20 February even as heavy traffic added to the delay of star performances by hours from the scheduled time, and led to the late arrival of Chief Minister Pema Khandu by over an hour.
A senior official on terms of anonymity informed that the government had been suggested to organize the event in the Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar as the newly-inaugurated outdoor stadium in Yupia (renamed as Golden Jubilee Outdoor Stadium) does not have a parking space in proportion to its allotted seating capacity.
The official also informed that the event was made open for all only a day before the event on 19 February.
As per information received from official sources, 1500 to 2000 invitees from the state were allotted parking spaces near the DC, SP, and High Court premises-identified by the district administration, along with the horticulture department area opposite the stadium.
The public parked their vehicles outside on the highway.
When contacted, Urban Development Executive Engineer Gyamar Tachung informed that as per the original Detailed Project Report, parking space for 450 vehicles had been allotted for the outdoor stadium by the government. The under construction parking space is adjacent to the stadium and the construction work has also been stopped due to fund constraints.
The department had sent the revised estimate of the cost some two years ago, he informed, adding that the work will continue as soon as the government sends the funds.
He further informed that the government is looking further to construct more parking spaces by developing the Horticulture department land.
“However, we need to wait for the clearance bill of the allotted 450-vechilce parking lot first,” he said.
According to executing agency Assistant Project Manager of M/S Kusuk Enterprise, Pratap Chakraborty, 60 to 65 percent work of the parking lot is still pending and the work had been stopped in 2019 due to unavailability of funds.
The project work for the stadium was sanctioned on 28 March 2014 and the foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. The stipulated time for the completion of the project as per the agreement was 27 April, 2018. However, the work was completed on 31 December, 2019, with a few minor works completed in 2021.
