Here’s the real story behind removal of astroturf at Lahore hockey stadium

LAHORE: The management of the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore Thursday ripped off the astroturf in order to prepare the stadium for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) upcoming rally scheduled for August 13.

In a video, circulating on social media, it can be seen that labourers pulling off the astroturf at Lahore’s Hockey Stadium.

The video gained massive condemnation and criticism on social media for ruining the stadium with reports claiming that the astroturf in the stadium was being ripped apart for PTI’s public gathering.

Know the real story:

It is learnt that the removal of astroturf was originally planned for March or April of this year, but faced delays due to the revised PC-1 of the project.

The astroturf, removed from Lahore stadium, will now be placed on the Sargodha Hockey Stadium as the previous government had given permission for the installation of new turf on the Lahore ground.

Lahore’s historic national hockey stadium will get the Federation International Hockey FIH-approved new astroturf worth Rs15 million by December this year.

Following the propaganda, Punjab Sports Minister Malik Taimur Masood Khan also stated that the previous government decided to shift the turf of Lahore ground to Sargodha and it has nothing to do with the PTI’s public rally.

Earlier today, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday clarified that the AstroTurf at Lahore’s Hockey Ground, where the party will be holding a rally on August 13, was not being scrapped, rather it was being replaced with a new one.