Kalinga Stadium swimming pool to reopen next week

Bhubaneswar: After public outcry fuelled by its abrupt closure in September last year, the Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool complex inside the Kalinga Stadium has finally been reconstructed within deadline and will be reopened from the second week of May.

“All preparations barring few things have been completed and after two to three days it will be all set for inauguration. After that we will open it for practice,” said Director of the swimming pool complex, Manoj Padhi.

According to sources, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the new complex in the second week of May.

The new pool complex constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore has an Olympic event-size pool of 50 metre with 10 lanes.

“The new complex has all kinds of facilities that a national or international-level swimming pool should have,” swimming coach Surendra Nayak said.

Earlier the complex had facilities such as a warm-up pool, a pool for kids, a diving pool and another Olympic event-size pool with eight lanes.

The swimming pool complex with world class infrastructure was developed in 2004 with an investment of around Rs 8 crore. Later, another diving pool was also constructed in 2008 in which the state government had spent nearly Rs 4 crore.

Hundreds of swimmers use the pool for practice and fitness every day. The pool also caters to the needs of other professional swimmers from Odisha like Pratyasha Ray.

The authorities of the swimming pool complex had closed the facility in September last year and demolished a part of it for construction of additional galleries of the adjacent hockey stadium complex for the upcoming 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup in November.

The authorities had assured to make the new pool complex ready by April.