BIRATNAGAR, Aug 11: The Girija Prasad Koirala Cricket Stadium in Baijnathpur, Ward 19 of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, remains abandoned after successive governments failed to prioritise its construction, despite declaring it a project of national pride.
A detailed project report, or DPR, was prepared during the tenure of then sports minister Dig Bahadur Limbu, estimating the construction cost at Rs 2.96 billion. However, Limbu says the project never moved forward because subsequent governments did not give it priority.
He said he had tried to push the project ahead but was removed from office before the budget was finalised and could not include it as a multiyear project. According to him, politics has been the main reason behind the delay.
“Political prejudice is the main reason why the Girija Prasad Koirala Cricket Stadium could not be built,” Limbu said.
The government had prepared plans to develop cricket stadiums in Mulpani, Kathmandu, at an estimated cost of Rs 6.5 billion, in Bharatpur, Chitwan, for Rs 3 billion, and in Biratnagar for nearly Rs 3 billion. While work on the other projects continued, the Biratnagar stadium was pushed aside, Limbu said.
Successive sports ministers and governments have continued to mention the stadium as a priority in their annual budgets. But allocating only Rs 20 million to Rs 30 million a year for a project worth Rs 3 billion has done little to move construction forward.
In the current fiscal year's budget, the federal government has allocated Rs 16.8 million for a review of the DPR, while the provincial government has set aside Rs 50 million. However, uncertainty remains over whether either allocation will be spent, as the federal and provincial governments have made separate budget provisions for the same project.
Federal and provincial governments in deadlock
Airport turns into grazing ground for cattle
The stadium was initially under the federal government before it was later brought under the provincial government. The province had also announced plans to prioritise its construction.
During his first term, Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki had announced that the then Baijnathpur Cricket Stadium would be developed as a project of provincial pride. The plan was also included in the province's policies and programmes.
However, the federal government later renamed it the Girija Prasad Koirala Cricket Stadium and declared it a project of national pride, taking control of it from the provincial government.
After the federal government declared the project a national priority, the provincial government stopped including it in its budget. The federal government prepared a DPR estimating the cost at nearly Rs 3 billion but failed to allocate enough money for construction.
The project did not move ahead in fiscal year 2024,25 after the federal government allocated only a small budget, which later lapsed. This year, the federal government has allocated Rs 16.8 million only for reviewing the DPR, an amount insufficient to begin physical construction.
The provincial government has also allocated money for the project, but its budget is unlikely to be spent because the stadium remains under federal control. Grass has now grown across the stadium, with local residents cutting it for fodder and grazing goats there. Some parts of the site are also being used for farming.
Local cricket tournaments have also stopped being held there because the ground has not been maintained. In the past, the Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools' Association, HISSAN, used to organise cricket tournaments at the venue. Since last year, citing the ground's poor condition, HISSAN has shifted its tournament to the Biratnagar Jute Mill ground in Rani.
Other tournaments are now held at the Biratnagar Jute Mill ground and, in some cases, at the Melleban Cricket Stadium.
Koshi Province Sports Development Board Member Secretary Biplav Ghosh said the stadium should be handed over to the provincial government to make it operational. He said the board has also been lobbying the National Sports Council to transfer ownership to the province.
Ghosh argued that the land is registered in the name of the Morang District Sports Development Committee and therefore belongs to the province. He said the stadium must come under provincial control for the province to spend its allocated budget, adding that the government cannot invest in it without a formal transfer.
If the federal government refuses to hand over the stadium, the province plans to build a multipurpose covered hall elsewhere, he said.
Spread across nearly 17 bighas of land, the stadium has become a victim of political manoeuvring, a dispute over federal and provincial ownership, and years of neglect.
Struggling to get back on track
Construction of the stadium began in 2014. Under the original design, the project was expected to include a parapet with seating for around 25,000 spectators, an international standard playing field, modern dressing rooms, a media centre, a VIP stand, practice grounds, floodlights, a digital scoreboard, parking facilities and an administrative building.
So far, however, only the main ground and a few structures have been completed.
Even the main playing field needs more soil to raise its level, but that work has not been carried out. Some RCC structures have been built around the stadium, while most remain incomplete. Buildings with facilities for players, spectator toilets, broadcast rooms, a media centre and other technical infrastructure have also not been completed.
Cricketers in Biratnagar have been urging authorities to speed up construction, saying Nepal cannot continue to rely on a single international standard ground as cricket activities continue to expand.
With the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu facing heavy pressure, players say international standard venues should also be developed in places such as Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Dhangadhi.
If the stadium becomes fully operational, eastern Nepal could also host international tournaments. Such events could boost economic activity in hotels, transport, restaurants, tourism, media and other service sectors. Business leaders in Biratnagar have repeatedly drawn ministers' attention to the need to complete the project.
A venue must have all the required facilities in one place to host ICC approved international matches. These include floodlights, broadcasting facilities, dressing rooms, a media centre, security arrangements, medical facilities, crowd management and parking infrastructure.
Matches of the Seventh National Games have already been held at the stadium, including cricket, badminton and other sports. However, even the infrastructure built for those games is deteriorating because of a lack of maintenance.
