[Watch] Odisha CM Inaugurates 5 Sports Infra Projects; Lays Stone For Multipurpose Indoor Halls

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday reviewed the progress of ongoing sports infrastructure projects at Kalinga Stadium here.

Expressing satisfaction with the progress of ongoing construction, Naveen said these landmark sports infrastructure which will make Kalinga Stadium a leading destination in various sports. An indoor aquatic centre, which once complete, will be an iconic facility for swimmers is being built at the stadium. The indoor athletics stadium, will be the first such facility in India. The projects are on track and scheduled to be completed in a year, stated the officials.

During this visit, the Chief Minister inaugurated five sports infrastructure facilities and laid foundation stone for 89 multipurpose indoor halls.

The projects inaugurated include, Biju Patnaik Weightlifting Hall and a new sports hostel, a swimming pool each in Angul and Baripada and indoor stadium in Rourkela.

For the multi-purpose indoor stadiums, land for all the 89 locations has been identified. Tender process has been initiated for 87 locations and work is expected to start shortly in about 50 locations where the tender has been finalised. The indoor stadium are likely to start functioning in 2022-23, stated the officials.

The multipurpose indoor stadiums will have facilities for badminton, table tennis, weightlifting and can double up as disaster shelters and hospitals during disaster and pandemic-like situations.

All these projects will give an added boost to the ever-evolving sports ecosystem of the state.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Minister for Sports & Youth Services, Tusharkanti Behera; Development Commissioner, PK Jena; Secretary to CM (5T), VKPandian; Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, R Vineel Krishna, and officials of the Sports Department.