SAHIWAL: The underground drainage and water management system linked to a recharge well at the Synthetic Athletics Track (SAT) at the Sahiwal Zafar Ali Stadium has been choked, leaving accumulated rainwater on the tracks.

According to details, the drainage system had been functioning properly during last year’s monsoon. However, no maintenance work had been carried out by the District Sports Office or the Project Management Unit (PMU) since the facility was handed over by the private contractor.

The system has shown signs of failure during the first spell of the current monsoon season, also the first year of recharge well’s operation.

Talking to Dawn, athletics coach Fayyaz said that beneath the SAT’s nine lanes lies a four-foot-deep layered piping system connected to an underground tank and recharge well designed to return rainwater to the soil. He explained that 12-inch rectangular inlets on both sides of the lanes channel rainwater down into the system.

Many young athletes who train at SAT told Dawn that foul smell had been emanating from the inlets even before the rainy season began, indicating water was not draining properly into the recharge well. They claimed that during the last rainy season, not a single drop of rainwater accumulated on the track.

District Sports Officer Amir said that maintenance work was ongoing and the stagnant water would soon drain from the track.

The SAT was built with a total cost of Rs245 million through a Punjab Sports Board grant and was completed and handed over to the stadium management in August 2025.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026