KATHMANDU, March 26: It has been a decade since the construction of Shree Ram Janaki Multi-purpose International Stadium began. Although Rs 900,000 has been spent annually for the construction, the stadium is yet to take proper shape.

The National Sports Council is planning to use 17 bighas of land of Laxman Jiraita at Rajaul, Janakpurdham on lease along with Guthi Sansthan, but the construction work has not progressed as expected. Janakpurdham has its own legacy in cricket, volleyball and kabaddi.

The Shree Ram Janaki Multi-purpose International Stadium at Rajaul in Janakpurdham is waiting to take shape. Youth and sports lovers are expecting that the stadium will be completed. No concrete steps have been taken for the construction of this stadium, which has been approved by the government’s body concerned as an international level stadium. Pokhara Stadium has already been built while the government has allocated a Rs 50 million budget for DPR of a stadium in Surkhet but this project has seen no progress.

Earlier, the National Sports Council had announced that Sri Ram Janaki Multi-purpose International Stadium will be a national pride project. Keshav Kumar Bista, the then member secretary of the National Sports Council held a press conference at his office on November 19, 2017 and announced the decision. Nepal Guthi Sansthan has provided 17 bighas of land for the stadium in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Ward No. 14.

According to the written agreement between Narayan Chaudhary, Executive Head of Nepal Guthi Sansthan Head Office and Keshav Bista, the then member secretary of the National Sports Council, the Guthi Sanstha trust has provided the international stadium to National Sports Council for 30 years at an annual rent of Rs 900,000.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Province Assembly Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, Minister for Women, Children, Youth and Sports of Madhesh Province Mohammad Jayad Alam inspected the construction site of the international stadium.

Mayor Manoj Kumar Shah said that since Janakpurdham, the main area of Janakpurdham sub-metropolitan city, is also the capital of the province, coordination and cooperation of all three levels of government is necessary for such an ambitious project. He said that he is ready to help in any way for the construction of the stadium.

For the promotion of the stadium, the cricket pitch is being constructed with the help of two million rupees from the sub-metropolitan city and the fencing is being done with two million rupees from the Ministry of Sports of the Madhesh Province.

The youths of the province also state that they will start a campaign to promote the stadium by organizing the Mayor's Cup, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Memorial Cup as soon as possible.

Dinesh Poorve, who has been campaigning for the construction of the stadium for one and a half decades to all three levels of government, mentioned that even though he gave a proposal to the then Sports Minister Ganesh Nepali in 2066 BS, he neglected the proposal. Poorve also clarified that he has proof that Madhesh government chief minister Lalbabu Raut had conspired to move the Janakpurdham stadium to Birgunj in Parsa district.

According to youth and sports lovers, if the stadium is built in Janakpurdham, it will help  in tourism promotion, economic development, development of sports and Janakpurdham's legacy of cricket, kabaddi and volleyball games.