Nepal, Nov. 17 -- As the South Asian Games organising committee officially marked the 15-day countdown of the sub-continental sports festival on Saturday, some of the major infrastructures including the main venue for the opening and closing ceremonies are still under construction even as the authorities expressed their confidence that everything will be ready before the Games kick off on December 1.

Dashrath Stadium, the principal venue of the 10-day sporting extravaganza, is yet to get the final shape. The heating system installed new swimming facilities at the Satdobato Sports Complex is not complete.

At Pokhara Stadium, the grass turf is patchy and the beautification incomplete. In Kathmandu, tonnes of garbage needs to be removed fr...