Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium sporting a new and more colourful look

There were chairs but they were not in a condition to sit. If one was broken, the other was upside down; iron nails had come out. In some galleries the chairs disappeared from time to time, while in some parts there was not even a single chair. The stairs were laid out step by step.  Accidents could have happened while walking.

The condition of the gallery of Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram was due to lack of maintenance. The stadium which has a capacity of 22,000 spectators could not even accommodate 10,000 spectators during the Test series between Bangladesh and Pakistan last year.

But you will see a different ZACS now. New and colourful chairs have been arranged. Fazle Bari Khan, venue manager of the ZACS, told The Business Standard (TBS) that 12,000 new chairs have been installed.

"After the installation of the new chairs, now the stadium has a capacity of more than 18,000 spectators. Some of the chairs were in a good state and so we decided to keep them," he said.

At one point, there was no chair in the picturesque stadium. As part of the renovation during the 2011 World Cup, plastic chairs were installed and one side of the ground was upgraded to two tiers.

At that time, the chairs were brought from abroad. But this time, RFL chairs have been installed. Fazle Bari hopes that these chairs will remain intact for 10 years.

"The chairs back then were brought from abroad. They lasted long. This time around we have brought chairs from a local company. There is a one-year warranty. But I am not sure how long they will last. I hope that they will remain intact for 10 years," mentioner Bari.

As per the regulations, the National Sports Council (NSC) should have done all the renovation works. But the organisation did not do anything. After waiting for it for a while, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) itself has decided to recondition the ground.