BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday inaugurated five sports infrastructure facilities and laid the foundation stones for 89 multi-purpose indoor halls across the state.
The projects inaugurated include the Biju Patnaik Weightlifting Hall and a new sports hostel at the Kalinga stadium, a swimming pool each in Angul and Baripada and the indoor stadium in Rourkela.
"These are landmark sports infrastructure which will make Kalinga Stadium the leading destination in various sports,” Patnaik said during his visit to Kalinga Stadium.
For the multi-purpose indoor stadiums, land for all the 89 locations has been identified and tender process has been initiated for 87 locations and work is expected to start shortly in about 50 locations, an official said, adding that it is expected that all the indoor stadiums will start functioning in 2022-23.
These multi-purpose indoor stadiums will have facilities for badminton, table tennis, weightlifting and can be used as disaster shelters and hospitals during disaster and pandemic like situations, he said. All these projects will give an added boost to the ever-evolving sports ecosystem of the state.
Currently, Odisha has promising young weightlifters who are poised to become strong medal contenders in near future, and having a weightlifting hall led by a team of experts and professionals with access to Sports Science facilities will go a long way to ramp up their performance.
The new sports hostels and its allied facilities and amenities, within the Kalinga Stadium premises, will ensure a home away from home for the athletes, while they stay focused on their goal to achieve sporting excellence, he said.
Patnaik also reviewed the progress of the major sports infrastructure projects ongoing in Kalinga Stadium, particularly the indoor aquatic centre, which once completed, will be an iconic facility for swimmers.
In addition, 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, the official said.
