100 mini stadiums in Odisha by August

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to complete the construction of 100 mini stadiums in the state by the end of August this year.

Talking to media persons after a review meeting of the performance of the Sports and Youth Affairs department by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here, minister Sudam Marandi said the meeting decided to raise the number of seats in 15 Sports Hostels in the state to 1250.

He said it has been decided to raise the monthly stipend of women athletes residing in Sports Hotels from Rs 150 to Rs 300.

He also informed that the construction of a swimming pool, which is underway in Sambalpur at a cost of Rs 7.35 crore, would be completed very soon.

“Besides, the meeting also decided to provide incentive to the sportspersons of the state who have excelled in national and international events.

Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs, Saswat Mishra said the chief minister directed the department to expedite relaying of synthetic athletic track in Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, an artificial hockey turf in Sundargarh, renovation of indoor stadium in Cuttack, indoor stadium in all districts and improvement of existing stadiums.