Odisha CM lays foundation stone of country's largest hockey stadium in Rourkela

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the country's largesthockey stadium in the steel city here during his one-day visitto Sundargarh district.

The stadium will be named after noted freedom fighterBirsa Munda and will jointly host the mens Hockey World Cup-2023 along with the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

With a seating capacity of 20,000, the new stadiumwill be located on the Biju Patnaik University of Technology(BPUT) campus here.

''It will set a new benchmark in global stadium designfor hockey, offering one of the finest spectator experiencesin the world,'' the chief minister said.

Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra hadsaid that the proposed facility will be developed within oneyear.

The chief minister also laid the foundation stone ofprojects worth Rs 5,000 crore, including the stadium.

The projects related to drinking water, irrigation,health services, roads and bridges, education, sanitation,livelihood initiatives, smart city development, infrastructuredevelopment, women and child care, clean environment, skilldevelopment, and sports infrastructure for Sundargarhdistrict.

Recalling the contribution of former chief ministerBiju Patnaik towards development of Rourkela, Patnaik said,''My fathers memories are visible in Rourkela Steel Plant aswell as National Institute of Technology (NIT)''.

He also praised the women of Sundergarh for theircontribution to the growth of ''Mission Shakti'' programme, aSelf-Help Group (SHG) movement by the women.

The chief minister said, his government will urge theCentre for inclusion of Mundari and Ho languages in the EighthSchedule of the Constitution.