Stadium is emptied, athletes told to leave so that IAS officer can walk with dog

Over the past few months, athletes and coaches at the Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium have been complaining about being forced to wrap training earlier than usual, by 7 pm. 

The reason, according to them is, Delhi's Principal Secretary (Revenue) Sanjeev Khirwar walks his dog at the facility about half-an-hour later.

When contacted, Khirwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer, described the allegation as "absolutely incorrect". He accepted that he "sometimes" takes his pet for a walk at the facility but denied that it disrupted the practice routine of athletes.

Built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the centrally located sporting complex is a multi-discipline facility that attracts national and state athletes, and footballers.

The coaches and athletes say they have to train earlier in the heat since practice has to be wrapped up early.