KOCHI: Having been the catalyst for a host of new records, and bearing the footprints of the nation’s best athletes, the red synthetic surface at the Maharaja’s College Stadium is in for a makeover.Considered one of the best athletics venues in the country, the track has been a regular in Kerala’s athletics scene since its inception five years ago. It then comes as no surprise that certain areas of the track have suffered a lot of wear and tear. The Maharaja’s College Synthetic Track Committee - which maintains the facility - has decided to renovate the damaged areas on the track once the current season ends in December. The entire 400m track, the lane markings of which are fading away, will also be cleaned up and restored to its gleaming best, Kerala State Athletics Association executive vice-president Tony Daniel told Express. “The portion near the 100 m starting point, the approach to the javelin throw arc and the take-off areas at the long jump and high jump pits have suffered the maximum wear and tear. The damaged areas will be removed in strips of two to three metres each and then replaced with fresh strips. They will be integrated into the remaining part of the track which don’t take so much load,” Tony said. The renovation will be carried out by the New Delhi unit of the Swiss company Cornica Sports Surfaces, which had originally laid the synthetic track at a cost of `5 crore in 2006. The track, however, was inaugurated only on August 30 in 2007 as the ownership of the venue was a cause of dispute between the College authorities and the Ernakulam District Sports Council. “The work is scheduled to start on January 15 and it will take around two weeks to complete. As the material for the surface involves petroleum-based products (primarily resin), there needs to be dry weather. The renovation will be incorporated into the five-year warranty period offered by Cornica,” Tony further said.Olympian Mercy Kuttan, who uses the track as a training base for the athletes of the Mercy Kuttan Athletics Academy, has welcomed the move. “It is important that the track is maintained properly. Good facilities will always benefit the athletes,” Mercy said.The track - one of only two full dimension synthetic tracks in Kerala (The University College Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, being the other) - was launched with much fanfare and duly brought prestigious events like the National Open Championship and the Indian Grand Prix to Kochi. It has also regularly hosted state and district meets in various categories, apart from serving as a quality venue for events at the school and college levels as well. The next event scheduled on the track is the State School Games from December 8 to 11.
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