Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday hailed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his foresightedness and yearning to work for people's welfare. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Bharat Ratan Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium.
While delivering a speech on the occasion, Yogi congratulated the promoters of the stadium, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association and the people of the state on the inauguration of the stadium, adding that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) stadium "gives birth to a host of possibilities in the state".
On the naming of the stadium, Adityanath elucidated: "I thought of the person who gave a new identity to UP and Lucknow. We are close to the Shaheed Path, which was built because of Atal Ji. Imagine the state of daily commute in Lucknow had the Shaheed Path not been constructed."
"It was his (Vajpayee) foresightedness and yearning to work for the welfare of the people that ramped up infrastructure development projects. It was because of him that this secluded area has become a hustling-bustling hub of the city and contributing towards the progress of the city and the state. That is why we named the stadium Bharat Ratan Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium," the chief minister added.
He further stated that the construction work on the proposed cricket stadium in Ghaziabad will start by December, adding that it will be India's largest in terms of seating capacity. While Kolkata's Eden Gardens can accommodate over 66,000 spectators, Yogi claimed that the Ghaziabad stadium will surpass the 75,000 mark.
The chief minister also called upon cricket enthusiasts, who will be visiting the venue later in the day to watch the India-West Indies match, to create a "healthy and encouraging atmosphere".
"The match is an opportunity to send a good image of the state. The match should be conducted in a healthy and encouraging atmosphere; every player who plays well should be encouraged. By doing so, we are extending an opportunity to our players and our youth to do better; it (hosting an international cricket match) is an opportunity Lucknow will have after 24 years," Yogi said. It was in 1994 when Lucknow last hosted an international match. In January that year, India hosted Sri Lanka for a Test match in the K. D. Singh Babu Stadium.
The stadium, which has a seating capacity of around 50,000, will host its first-ever international cricket match later today when India takes on the West Indies in the second of the three-match T20I series. With their five-wicket win in Kolkata on Sunday, India currently leads the series 1-0.
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