Sadly, the synthetic jogging track is craving for attention from the Sports Authority of Goa for want of maintenance.
Blame it on wear and tear or otherwise, the track has worn off at some stretches and has showed signs of cracking at other places.
Joggers claim that while it’s been over a year now since the cracks surfaced on the track, SAG officials are yet to step in and take up the repair and maintenance work. Fears are raised that the entire track may suffer irreparable damage if urgent steps are not initiated to arrest the damage.
Joggers pointed out that they have not come across any maintenance work on the track in recent times.
Apart from the damaged track, joggers have called for a cleanup of the entire area outside the jogging track especially on the stretch running parallel to the road from the swimming pool to the stadium.
In the absence of maintenance, wild plants have protruded onto the track and the entire area has turned an eyesore.
When Herald contacted SAG Director Sandeep Jacques to shed light on the delay in repairing the synthetic jogging track, he promised to send his technical officers soon to ascertain the status of the track and report back.
“I will find out from my technical staff whether the track has suffered the damage during the defect liability period. If yes, then we will get the contractor take up the repair and maintenance work,” Jacques said.
A senior technical official, attached to the SAG said the contractor had promised to take up the repair work after the monsoons. “We had a joint inspection of the jogging track with the contractor.
Hopefully, repair work on the track will start in January since the work requires dry and sunny weather while laying the synthetic track,” the official said.
Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado and former chief minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, who have been regular users of the jogging track, have also promised to take up with the government the urgent need to repair the synthetic track at the earliest.
