Sports enthusiasts in Bumthang will soon get to play indoor sports, as the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BoC) is constructing a multi-sports hall in Chamkhar.

Construction works are in full swing in an area between the Chamkhar public ground and the road between the town and Bhutan Oil Distributor.

The project engineer, Ugyen Tshering, said they have completed the raft foundation base stone soling. “The plain cement concreting is also going on now.”

Work for the sports hall construction was awarded in February 2016 but they could not work due to some geological problems.

The project engineer said that they had to make four attempts until they could actually start the work.

Explaining the problems they faced, Ugyen Tshering said the area was marshy with high water seepage. “The dzongkhag wanted the soil to be tested and it failed the test.”

He said that the work could start only from June 2016 after the design was changed.

Ugyen Tshering explained that the initial design was for footing design, which later had to be changed to raft or mat foundation design to fit the geological stability of the area.

He said even the excavators could not be taken through. “We dug 2.9 metres depth and the water drained out through multiple chutes,” he said. “The water still flows through chutes unlike in some other places where they dry up usually once drains are dug.”

The project engineer said the soil they excavated is piled up in heaps but they can’t be used it for refilling.

Bhutan Olympic Committee’s head of Infra, Kinley Tshering, said the multi-sports hall will be completed by June 2018 and the ground will also have turf soon.

The government of India (GoI) is funding Nu 70 million (M) for the construction and another 16.5M for laying artificial turf over the ground.

Kinley Tshering said the multi-sports halls in Samdrupjongkhar, Kanglung and Punakha are expected to be completed by this year.

Nima Wangdi | Chamkhar