JLN Stadium in a mess after Diljit Dosanjh concert

The track had already been closed for ten days for the musical event and will likely be closed for a few more days while organizers clean up the mess. Several athletes training for the Junior National Championships and other domestic events moved to the worn warm-up track outside the main stadium. They said their preparation had failed.

On Saturday, Hindustan Times reported that athletic equipment of the trainees was damaged by the organizers. A video with HT showed locks broken and obstacles dumped in a corner. Worse still, when the trainees reached the JLN Stadium – it is owned by the Sports Authority of India – on Monday, they were dejected to see beer bottles, plastic, food and garbage strewn everywhere by fans attending Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati tour.

“It was such a bad view. We worship this place and see what they have done? said sprinter Ajit, who is preparing for the junior nationals in Odisha, which were postponed last week due to Cyclone Dana. The All India Police Championships are also scheduled for next month.

“We tried to clean it up but it didn’t work,” said the Delhi State and School Games Federation of India medalist.

Another sprinter from Delhi, Rahul Raj Mahato, said it was difficult to train on the outdoor warm-up track as it is old and worn. “You can see the base. There is a risk of injuries. They (concert organizers) have damaged our barriers. Who is going to pay?”

Beant Singh, a Youth Asia 800m champion, was seething. “After bowing we enter the stadium. This is the respect we have. We are careful and clean up the rubble. The intention is not to make a party out of it. How can top athletes train here?”

“There is also Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, but can they organize a concert there in a cricket stadium? They will never be allowed,” the 16-year-old said.

The JLN Stadium was the centerpiece of the 1982 Asian Games and was renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The venue has already been stripped of its status as a Class 1 facility by World Athletics because the synthetic track was not rebuilt according to the norms and a “depression” developed. SAI carried out minor repair work and reopened it for training. SAI, whose headquarters are in the building, had no longer registered it as a National Center of Excellence.

According to SAI, 70,000 people attended the concert over two days. “The stadium is expected to be cleaned by the 29th. SAI’s contract with the organizers states that they will return the stadium to SAI in the same manner as it was handed over to them,” SAI said.

When HT visited the location after the first day’s concert, there were no waste bins. “There were no rubbish bins in sight at the site so most people had simply thrown away pizza boxes, food, water bottles and empty beer bottles. Garbage pieces were thrown on the track, which the organizers had not paid attention to,” said Meharpreet Kaur, 29, who attended Saturday’s concert.

The stadium site is leased out by SAI for sporting and non-sporting events under a public-private partnership model to generate funds.

“Just look at the SAI website, the stadium is always booked for private events. It is only used for commercial purposes and not for sports. Even the warm-up area is sometimes outsourced to private agencies for events. It is difficult to find dates to even hold state meets,” an official said.

SAI said the venue was allotted for the concert as no camps were being held. “The only athletes who come to play sports in JLN are from the Come and Play program, which is intended for children who are just starting out. There are no elite, junior or sub-junior athletes training in JLN,” SAI said. Coaches disagree.

“Athletes from Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and even Rajasthan and Bihar train here. Athletes outside the stations stay in rental accommodations nearby. It is a lifeline for so many elite, novice and para athletes,” said one coach.

(With input from Jasjeev Gandhiok)