A damaged portion of the VOC stadium at Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli district on Monday. , Photo credits: A. sheikhmohideen
The VOC stadium in Palayamkottai, which was renovated under the smart city program at an outlay of ₹14 crore and reopened 15 months ago, lost a portion of the shade over the gallery following heavy rain accompanied by strong winds on Monday .
After a hot afternoon, Palayamkottai and its suburbs experienced sudden rain accompanied by strong winds around 2 pm. As a result, the shed on the northwestern side of the gallery, covered in synthetic sheets, came down violently. As the concrete pillars carrying the shed over the gallery close to the children’s play area were not strong enough to withstand the gale, sheds up to a length of about 65 feet were blown away. No one was injured.
When several projects, including the reconstruction of the Tirunelveli Junction bus-stand, were taken up by the corporation under the Smart City project, the VOC Stadium was also given a facelift at a cost of ₹14 crore. Since the playing field previously only had a concrete gallery, new synthetic seats were installed. Apart from this, sheds were also installed over the seats to protect the spectators from rain and sun.
Corporation Commissioner V. Sivakrishnamurthy immediately rushed to the spot and inspected the extent of damage. “We are now studying the extent of damage and will check the quality of construction. Based on the findings, we will take appropriate action,” he said.