Bhubaneswar: In a major boost for cricket development in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, announced the redevelopment of the historic Barabati Cricket Stadium and laid foundation stone for the redevelopment of the VSS Cricket Stadium in Sambalpur on Tuesday via video conferencing.
He said that the Barabati stadium will be redeveloped into a world-class sports complex with all the modern facilities in partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) and corporates. At the same time, considering the legacy of the stadium, the iconic Clock Tower will be conserved as a heritage structure. The VSS Stadium in Sambalpur will be expanded and developed with the best cricket facilities for the cricketers in the region.
Patnaik also inaugurated cricket facilities at the Berhampur Sports Complex; Shree Jagannath Cricket Stadium & Women’s Cricket Academy, Puri; Sports Complex, Jajpur; Cricket Ground, Jharsuguda; and 41 cricket academies developed across the state by the Odisha Cricket Association. He announced that the stadium in Berhampur will be named as Mahatma Gandhi Cricket Stadium, in memory of Gandhiji’s visit to this place during the freedom movement.
The Chief Minister also announced that an Integrated Sports Complex will be created at Sitalapalli in Berhampur which will include facilities for athletics, football, cricket, indoor stadium, etc. to cater to the needs of the sportspersons in the region.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the Ganjam Weightlifting Academy along with a 200-beded hostel making it the largest weightlifting training facility in the country. Patnaik said it’s a tribute to the popularity of weightlifting in Ganjam, which produced so many weightlifters.
Several sports infrastructure in Jajpur namely Kusuma Complex Swimming Pool, Hockey Training Centre, a multipurpose indoor stadium, athletic track, and football ground, etc. were also inaugurated on Tuesday. The foundation stones of a Rugby ground and cricket grounds were also laid along with the hostel.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for Integrated Sports Complexes at Bargarh and Dhenkanal, which includes various facilities like athletic tracks, swimming pools, football grounds, cricket ground, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the focus on cricket by the state government and the OCA will help in creating a good eco system for emergence of champions from the state in the coming years. He added that sports is a priority area for the government to enable empowerment of youth and Odisha is now recognised as a major destination for sports in the country. He hoped that all the sports infrastructure and training facilities being created will attract more children towards sports.
The programme was conducted across 50 venues through video conferencing and a large number of cricketers and sportspersons participated. The OCA members including its president Pranab Prakash Das, Minister for Sports and Youth Services Tushar Kanti Behera, and a large number of cricketers participated in the programme from Barabati stadium.
