Bhubaneswar: To promote sports at grassroots, the State Government has allocated Rs 4,124 crore for the construction of block-level stadiums across the State.
This was informed by Sports and Youth Services Minister Suryabanshi Suraj during a review meeting of the Department held today at the Kalinga Stadium.
The meeting focused on reviewing the master plan for the construction of block-level stadiums and for the development of the grassroots sports ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Suraj stated that Rs 4,124 crore has been allocated for the construction of block-level stadiums across Odisha. The initiative aims to nurture sporting talent in every village and block, ensuring a strong foundation for the state’s sports ecosystem.
“Our primary focus is to enhance grassroots sports, nurture talent and provide quality training to the sportspersons,” he said.
The CM Trophy competition has been introduced to promote grassroots-level sports. International sporting events like the FIH Hockey Pro League have been successfully hosted at the Kalinga Stadium in recent times, he said.
Odisha’s athletes have also performed well in this year’s National Games and Odisha secured a position among the top 15 states in the country in National Games.
The Sports Minister said that Odisha’s sportspersons will continue to bring laurels by winning medals in national and international competitions.
In addition to infrastructural development, Suraj directed the Department officials to expedite all the projects and ensure their timely execution.
Among others, Principal Secretary of Sports and Youth Services Department, Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, Director Dipankar Mohapatra, Additional Secretary Bijay Kumar Swain and other senior officials were present in the meeting.