The reconstruction of the rowing tower at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh has finally got the green signal. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun has made it clear in its report that the construction of the rowing tower will not cause any harm to the wildlife. After this, the Sports Department will soon start the construction work. This decision was taken in a meeting between the department and the 5-member team of WII.
During the meeting, the dam built in the middle of the rowing course was also discussed. The team said that before removing the dam, a study will be done on the conservation of aquatic life. The report on the method of removing the dam and its effects will be submitted to the Sports Department in a month. After this, a decision will be taken to remove the dam. After the removal of the dam, the entire 2 km rowing course will be ready again in Sukhna, which is necessary for international level events.
Rowing tower burnt due to short circuit
In 1989, the administration had built a rowing tower at Sukhna Lake to promote rowing. Due to this, the city also got the hosting of international competitions. But on 7 October 2009, the tower caught fire due to a short circuit. Since then, a new rowing tower could not be built at Sukhna.
Dam built in 2016 to remove silt
In 2015-16, the administration built a temporary dam in the middle of the rowing course to remove silt from Sukhna Lake. Due to this dam, the 2 km long rowing course was reduced to just 1 km, due to which it was not possible to conduct international level competitions. Now the Sports Department is preparing to remove this dam and build a rowing course again as per international standards.
Chandigarh Sports Director Saurabh Arora said that all the formalities for the reconstruction of the rowing course are being completed rapidly. After getting all the necessary approvals, the construction work of the rowing tower and watching tower will be started again at Sukhna Lake.
