Syed Intikhab Ali [The News]
Karachi: The building structure of one of the most famous and prestigious football stadium in the country, popularly known as the (defunct) KMC football stadium, is dilapidated day by day due to non maintenance and other negligence.
The football experts in the local football circles observed that if proper and timely maintenance would not be carried in the KMC football stadium various parts of the structure could be collapsed specially the VIP gallery of the stadium where plaster of various sides of walls, under the stairs and floors is falling down rapidly.
“If maintenance and construction work would not be carried out as soon as possible the condition of the stadium would further dilapidate,” the football players of various teams played commented on the situation.
It is also learnt that the majority of shop owners located either under the stares of the stadium or alongside the wall of the stadium encroached the shops from inside to get maximum space and to acquire big space to run their business.
“Due to the occupation inside the shops the foundations of the walls and have weakened and may be cause of the collapse,” sources said.
KMC Football stadium has an unprecedented and unique history in the promotion of Football in the country.
The condition of the building is ruined due to negligence of CDGK, as 115 shops are established under the building structure of the football stadium and it is learnt that most of the shops owners have dig inside the shops to get maximum place due to which the foundations of the walls of the stadium has weakened.
The KMC Football has sole identification in the history of the Pakistan football as it is the place where Pakistan has played more than 100 international football matches here and countries like Russia, Iran, China, Turkey, Kuwait, Korea, Japan, Germany and USA, played here.
Besides it is the place where at least 10 months football activities 12 hours per day continue either practice of the game, camp training or organising the local tournaments and matches.
Ahmed Jan said that the football activities continued here for 10 months and for two months it has been closed time to time according to the requirements of the maintenance of the grass and other necessaries of the ground field.
“The ground has been open from 7 in the morning till 10pm in the night for any department, club or other teams to run their training camp or play their matches and all this is being according to the planned schedule as days are allocated for departments and clubs organise their camps.”
When asked about the building structure of the stadium he said that CDGK high-ups have taken notice of the dilapidated condition of the building and conducted a survey but what would happened later he does not know.
The EDO Community Development of Department (CDD) of CDGK, Rehana Saif told ‘The News’ when contacted that the deterioration in the building structure in the defunct KMC football stadium has been reported to the city government.
She said that she had directed to DO sports of CDGK, Shariq Ilyas to conduct a comprehensive survey of the stadium and compile a complete report in the department with recommendations.
“On the basis of this report the recommendations would be forward to DCO Karachi Muhammad Hussain Syed,” she assured.
The stadium has more than the capacity of 25 thousands spectators and it is the history of the stadium that it is always full to the crowed when ever either international football matches or domestic matched to be played here. So keeping in view the safety of human life it is necessary that CDGK carried out the construction work as soon as possible.