10cr revamp lined up for Salt Lake stadium

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to upgrade the lighting and other necessary infrastructure at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake. The stadium would be provided with lighting and other necessary infrastructure. Power minister Manish Gupta said that the cost to upgrade the stadium for the upgradation has been estimated at Rs 10 crore.
This decision was taken in the wake of Sunday night's sudden blackout at the stadium.The stadium plunged into darkness for nearly half an hour during an East Bengal-Mohun Bagan match following which the government initiated an inquiry and suspended three engineers in the WBSEDCL.
The suspension has raised hackles among the engineers of the state-run utility. "The suspension order is prejudiced. It The suspension action took place without adequate inquiry and natural justice and also without judging the merit and strength of the caseThe suspension order is prejudiced," said secretary of the engineers' association (WBSEBEA) Kaushik Mukherjee.
Engineers under the WBSEBEA is going on a mass casual leave on Tuesday in protest. Mukherjee alleged that engineers had submitted a comprehensive proposal to plug such blackouts in Salt Lake Stadium four years ago that the government didn't act upon.
The state government had initiated an inquiry after the sudden power failure during the match and has suspended three engineers of the power department. for the sudden power failure during the match .
The game was suspended for 19 minutes after the lights went off at 8.16 pm on Sunday with just five minutes remaining for it to end. State power minister Manish Gupta said at Writers' Buildings on Saturday, "The stadium has been subjected to utter neglect for the past many years." He said three engineers suspended for the power cuts has left the government red in the face.
Gupta added, "There has been no maintenance, no testing of lights at the stadium for several years now. All the lights in the stadium are old." West Bengal State Electricity Development Corporation Limited (WBSEDCL) has had a testing department in the stadium for many years but it has remained largely non-functional."
Gupta said neglect charges have been hurled on the superintendent engineer of WBSEDCL at the testing centre in Salt Lake stadium and divisional managers (both current and former). They have been asked to reply to show causes of the neglect within a week.
Gupta said more investigation will follow the showcause reports. The minister did not rule out sabotage and was sure of the neglect that had led to the power cuts. He said the two feeders at the stadium need to be replaced. Funds will be needed to renew the infrastructure and install new equipment. He said, "Around Rs 10 crore will be needed.
The power department will need around two months to replace the feeders." According to sports minister Madan Mitra, the entire wiring also needs to be replaced.