Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium inaugurated for Commonwealth Games

After several missed deadlines, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the Commonwealth Games, was finally inaugurated by Sports Minister MS Gill and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday.

The engineering marvel built at a cost of Rs 960 crore, got delayed umpteen times because of the construction of an underground tunnel for the opening ceremony of the October 3-14 event.

Also present on the occasion were Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Sports Authority of India Director General Sayan Chatterjee and several sports persons and senior officials of the sports Ministry. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The stadium will host the Games' opening and closing ceremonies and athletics, weightlifting and Lawn tennis events. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The remodelled 60,000 capacity stadium has been built at a cost of Rs 960 crore. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

Kalmadi said through the Commonwealth Games, the whole world will see the potential India has got in terms of infrastructure. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

Constructed during the 1982 Asian Games, the remodelling of the stadium started in January 2008. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The venue spans over an area of 4,04,686 square metre. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The oval shaped building has fabrication and erection of high strength steel work as per international standard. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

A 150m tunnel will connect the two ends of the stadium. The performers will use it to enter into the ground during the opening and closing ceremonies. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The Field of Play is divided into Competition, Training and Warm up area. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The training area boasts of a synthetic track with nine sprint lanes. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The competition area is a 400x9 lane synthetic warm-up track with 10 sprint lane of Class-I certification. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The entire building is earthquake resistant. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The stadium has two tier seating capacity for 60,000 spectators. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

The three independent structures of the main stadium building, are the lower tier, main building and supporting structure for PTFE membrane roof. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

Preparations for the Commonwealth Games have been on in full swing in the Capital. Praising the efforts of the concerned authorities, CM Sheila Dikshit said that Sports Minister worked as a locomotive to get the stadium done at the scheduled time. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

MS Gill said, "It's the first time in India that such a complex has been built. It's a job well done under pressure. The roof's design is very complex and designers made no mistakes in coming out with a flawless design. I want to say to everyone that we are ready for the Games." (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)

All the stadiums in the Capital for Commonwealth Games now stand completed except the one for weightlifting which will be inaugurated in 2-3 days time. (Picture courtesy: Mayanka Kapoor)