Bhubaneswar: Team Odisha has decided to work in tandem to complete the projects aligned with the FIH Hockey Men’s World CUP-2023 well before the scheduled time.
The meeting of the Organizing Committee of the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 was held here on 4 November. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra chaired the meet. Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey was present.
FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 will be held at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela and on the sidelines of the on-going FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023, Chief Secretary along with senior officials of Hockey India for reviewed progress of the preparations for the upcoming world cup.
Development Commissioner, Pradeep Jena, DGP Sunil Bansal, DGP Fire Services Santosh Upadhyay, Principal Secretary Finance, Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary Industries, Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary Commerce & Transport Bishnupada Sethi, Principal Secretary Handloom & Textiles Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Secretary Electronics & IT Manoj Mishra and other senior officials were present.
Discussions in the meeting showed that Commercial flights to Rourkela were expected to commence from December 2022. Provisions were being made for charter flights between two venues of the World Cup for the teams. Special buses would also ply during the World Cup to make it easy for players, officials and spectators to have a smooth experience.
Special attractions were being curetted by the Tourism Department to make a lasting impression on the visitors and fans.
Mr.Mahapatra directed to utilize the marquee event for promoting hockey amongst children. It was decided to organize sports carnivals and sports events at district level in association with schools.
The meeting also looked into the matters relating to Technology, Security, Safety, Pollution, Beautification, promotion, City fests etc.
Sports Secretary R. Vineel Krisha said, “Under the leadership of visionary Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, Odisha has set a benchmark with the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 and the state is committed and working towards hosting this at a spectacular scale”.
City festivals were planned in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela for the mega event. Similarly the district level festivals were also planned in major towns across the State to celebrate the Hockey World Cup.
Mr.Krishna presented a report on the various functional areas of the event for the two venues, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
He said that collective efforts between departments would ensure timely completion of the venues and related infrastructure for the tournament.
The 2023 edition of the Hockey World Cup has stirred the emotions and enthusiasm of fans and players, and people are eagerly looking forward to January when Odisha will once again demonstrate why it has evolved to become a global hub of hockey.