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Kalimpong, June 27: A cross-section of the society in Kalimpong has come together to transform the Mela Ground here into a modern playing arena.
A committee comprising representatives of the administration, sports bodies and schools and a few individuals has been formed to oversee the development of the ground, which is the only public venue for sports in town.
“The idea behind forming the Mela Ground Development Committee is to develop the field from all aspects. The ground is the only public venue for sport activities in Kalimpong and it is the responsibility of all residents to ensure its transformation into a modern sporting facility,” said Urgen Lama (Mini), a former footballer and the working president of the Kalimpong Sports Association.
Lama is on a seven-member technical sub-committee formed by the MGDC to suggest ways and means to develop the ground. Kalimpong subdivisional officer L.N. Sherpa is the head of the Mela development committee.
“We will look at the status of the ground and then decide what could be done about it. We will submit our preliminary report on July 9 and take it from there,” said Upendra Mani Pradhan, the convener of the sub-committee and a town planner.
The most important task before the ground development committee is to increase the size of the playing field to make it suitable to host football matches of international standard.
The Mela Ground is 107 metre-long and 59 metre-wide. The internationally accepted size of a football pitch is 105 metres in length and 68 metres in breadth.
“The length of the Mela Ground is not a problem, but the width is. Ideally, we would want the ground to be 64 metre wide,” said Lama.
The ground’s width cannot be increased beyond 64 metre because of space crunch.
Drainage is another problem area given that football matches are held in the hills during the monsoon. It is common to see matches being played under slushy conditions with pools of water in different parts of the ground.
“The water logging makes it difficult to conduct football matches,” said Pranay Mani Silal, the secretary of the KSA.
The Mela Ground has a sandy surface, not a grassy pitch.
Before the concrete stands were constructed in the 1980s, the sitting area used to be a grass land.
A dressing room for the players was built in one corner of the ground less than year ago.
“Yes, a lot needs to be done to improve the Mela Ground for both players and spectators. I welcome the initiative to develop the ground,” said Samten Kabo, a former footballer and treasurer of the Kalimpong Veterans’ Club.
The biggest challenge before Lama and the team would be to generate funds for the development of the ground. The Mela development panel members were not very forthcoming on how they would go about organising the money to carry out works. A member said once a development blueprint was in place, it would be easier to look for funds.
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