Ganjam to get highest 15 of 89 indoor stadiums approved by Odisha government

BHUBANESWAR: Ganjam, the state’s most populous district, will get the highest number of 15 indoor stadiums out of the 89 multi-purpose stadiums approved by the state cabinet recently.
While all these stadiums will be set up in urban areas, the state government has identified notified area councils (NACs) or small towns for establishment of the indoor stadiums, which will also be used as community shelters during natural calamities like floods and cyclones and 50-bed or 100-bed hospitals during pandemic.
In Ganjam, the home turf of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the indoor stadiums will come up at Aska, Belaguntha, Bhanjanagar, Buguda, Chikiti, Digapahandi, Ganjam, Gopalpur, Khallikote, Kodala, Kabisuryanagar, Polosara, Purushottampur, Rambha and Sorada, said official sources in the sports and youth services department.
While Bhubaneswar and Cuttack municipal corporations to have three indoor stadiums each, the Rourkela municipal corporation will have one such facility. As many as 52 indoor stadiums are planned in 52 NACs and 30 indoor stadiums in 30 municipalities.
Three municipal corporations will have seven indoor stadiums. All these projects will be taken up under the Urban Sports Infrastructure Development Project that aims to facilitate quality sports infrastructure in the state, said a senior government official.
Overwhelmed by India’s recent success at the Tokyo Olympics, these stadiums have also been planned to identify and nurture sporting talent in the state. The cabinet has approved Rs 693.35 crore to implement the urban sports facilities as the government has targeted to complete these projects in 18 months.
The works department (chief engineer, building) has been assigned to take up these projects while site selection and design finalisation already being jointly done by the senior officials of the works and sports departments.
According to official sources, authorities have been asked to stick to the timeline and ensure quality of construction as these projects have been taken up under the 5T model of governance.