Ludhiana: The district administration kick-started the long-awaited renovation of the Rakh Bagh shooting range in Ludhiana this week to upgrade sports infrastructure for local shooters. The project, estimated to cost ₹31 lakh, is expected to be completed within a month.Initial work is currently in progress, to be followed by fresh paint, structural repairs, and floor work. Upgrades listed by range officials include digital targets, laptops, ventilation equipment, new washrooms, and a designated cabin area for coaches and staff.Shooters and coaches previously faced severe infrastructure limitations, as the facility lacked digital targets—now mandatory in competitive events—and suffered from leaking roofs and walls during monsoons. Expressing gratitude to deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain, range coach Gurjit Singh said, “The required equipment’s including laptops, digital targets, new washrooms, cabin area for coaches, and other things were listed by the range officials to the district administration officials and hopefully in the coming days the new face of the shooting range will help us bring more medals.”A limited number of athletes preparing for upcoming school competitions are continuing practice at the facility as one side of the range remains operational during construction.Confirming the timeline, a district administration official told TOI, “The athletes at the range had raised their concerns about the infrastructure issues and other requirements considering which the project was started this week after all the official procedures. Now it is expected that in a month, the facility will be ready for the athletes to come back and have their practice sessions with all the latest requirements for their better performance in the competitions.”
