The playground of Kanchenjungha Stadium here will be ready for games and sports from Saturday, Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb said on Monday.

Deb, who visited the stadium on Monday, said: “The ground is almost ready for games. From Saturday, sports activities will resume at the stadium with the two-day state veterans’ athletics championship. Gradually, other sports events will be conducted at the stadium.”

The Kanchenjungha Stadium is the largest sports arena in Siliguri.

Last week, the stadium had emerged as an important issue in the local political arena after the state government had decided to organise a government programme — a public service distribution programme — at the ground. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was present at the event on December 12.

A section of sports lovers had expressed disappointment over the decision and pointed out that the football league had to be halted for the event. The BJP was quick to pick up the issue and Shankar Ghosh, the Siliguri MLA, resorted to protests with other party leaders and MLAs.

Ghosh, along with some other MLAs, were detained by police on December 11 as they tried to launch a sit-in demonstration at Hashmi Chowk, a prominent crossing in the city near the stadium.

After the event, the mayor said all efforts would be made to get the ground ready. The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) maintains the stadium which is spread over an area of seven acres and can accommodate 27,000 people.

The SMC, sources said, will spend around Rs 10 crore on the renovation of the stadium.

“The first phase of the renovation of the stadium will soon begin in certain portions of the gallery,” said a source.

Kuntal Goswami, the general secretary of the Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad, the subdivisional sports body, said 37 matches of the super division football league were yet to be held. “The civic body is working hard to restore the ground. However, we won’t be able to resume the suspended league matches before the first week of next month,” he said.