The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in India came under scrutiny after hosting the ‘Dil-luminati’ concert by Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh. The event, which attracted around 35,000 fans each night over two days, drew criticism from Beant Singh, a track and field athlete.
Beant Singh, 25, who won silver and bronze medals at the 2014 and 2018 National Open Championships respectively, expressed his disappointment on social media. He posted images showing the stadium’s track and field area littered with garbage and alcohol containers, as well as damaged athletic equipment.
Beant Singh voiced his concerns on Instagram about the state of the stadium following the concert.
Beant Singh said on Instagram, “This is where athletes train, but here people had alcohol and partied. For this, the stadium was closed off until yesterday. The athletics equipment has been broken and thrown to the side.”
Watch: Athletics gear left in ruins after Dil-luminati concert; Beant Singh voices disappointment
He also criticised the lack of support for athletes, stating, “After four years, intelligent people on social media remember that there is Olympics and then they wonder why don’t we secure medals in Olympics. If someone secures a medal then they click photos with them but they don’t support athletes at the grassroot level.”
He captioned the video as, “Jo nuksan hua hai bacho ka vo to do bache khud paise ikatthe krke samaan leke aate hain prctc k liye ….” (The loss that occurred is such that children themselves collect money and bring equipment for practice…)
Punjab FC, an Indian Super League (ISL) team that also uses the stadium, is now dealing with the aftermath as it prepares to face Chennaiyin FC on Thursday night.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has stated that the concert organisers are obligated to return the stadium in the same condition it was provided. A representative from SAI mentioned that the cleanup process is underway and the stadium is expected to be cleaned by the 29th.
“More than 70,000 people attended the concert over two days and the cleaning will take 24 hours. The stadium is expected to be cleaned up by the 29th,” commented a top SAI source to PTI.
Currently, there are no national camps in progress at the stadium. However, it is included in SAI’s ‘Come and Play’ scheme, which offers free facilities for training to children and beginners.
The stadium was originally built for the athletics competitions of the 1982 Asian Games and was renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies.
