Odishatv Bureau

Cuttack: The inauguration of the State Athletics Championship was delayed as the Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera reached the venue at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack late here on Thursday.

Behera, who was expected to arrive for the inauguration at around 10 am, turned up at the venue at 2 pm, nearly 4-hours late which sparked resentment among athletes.

Nearly, 1600 athletes had to wait for long as the championship’s inauguration was delayed till the minister’s arrival at Barabati stadium.

Behera later expressed regret for arriving late and informed that he was held up for some work in his constituency.  However, the organisers had not informed him about the actual timings, he claimed.

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"I was asked to come to the event only two days back and as I had pre-scheduled public meetings in the constituency, I got late. It was more of a communication gap and in no way intentional, "said Behera.

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