Bhubaneswar, March 12: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art sports complex in Jeypore in Odisha's Koraput district.
The Chief Minister also launched 26 multipurpose indoor stadiums in as many as 12 districts in the state.
The sports complex in Koraput has a natural football ground and a synthetic athletic track with a seating capacity of 500.It has a gymnastics center with international standard equipment, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, two synthetic tennis courts, and a basketball court.
As many as 26 multi-purpose indoor stadiums have been constructed in 12 districts to further strengthen Odisha’s efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle and create a sports environment.
The newly constucted sports complexes have facilities like badminton, table tennis, yoga, chess, weight lifting and gym.These projects have been implemented under the 5T initiative to develop professional sports in all parts of the state.
While inaugurating the facilities, the Chief Minister said that the sports complex in Jeypore will encourage the young talents of Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts in the field of sports. He said that this complex will play a major role in the development of sports in South Odisha.
He further said that "We are giving more importance to sports to build an efficient youth mass. It gave Odisha a unique place in the field of sports in the world. Today, all other States are following the Odisha model in the field of sports."
Highlighting the inauguration of the indoor stadiums, Patnaik said that all these indoor stadiums will create many opportunities for our children, especially in the field of professional sports. Children from villages and small towns can participate in various sports competitions in large numbers and our efforts will play an important role in developing sports culture in Odisha, he said.
On the occasion, 5T chairman Kartik Pandian said that all the sports complexes are the property of the people. He requested everyone to use and maintain them properly.
Attending the program in Jeypore, Sports Minister Tusarkanti Behera said that the state government is making continuous efforts to take sports to the highest level and Odisha has been in the forefront as a sports promoting state by building various sports infrastructures and providing better training.
In the program, Commissioner of Sports and Youth Services R. Vineel Krishna in his welcome speech said that Odisha has created a unique identity in the field of sports today due to the visionary leadership of CM Naveen Patnaik. Due to the proper implementation of 5T initiative in the state, Odisha has also achieved significant success in the field of sports, he added.
Among other sports officials, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Works Department Secretary Vir Vikram Yadav, and other senior officials were present in the program.
