SAMBALPUR: Four playgrounds in the city are being developed as mini stadiums.
Informing this, District Sports Officer (DSO) Upendra Satpathy said playgrounds at Singhpali near Kainsir, Hirakud College, Burla NAC College and Mirgamunda are being developed at an estimated cost of `20 lakh each. 

The Sports and Youth Services department has sanctioned `80 lakh for development of the four playgrounds. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been entrusted to execute the work, he added.
Assistant Engineer of SSA, Sambalpur, Suryakanta Biswal said as per the plan, the grounds would be levelled and low height galleries besides a stage will be constructed. Each stadium will have football goalposts on both sides of the ground and a tube well for drinking water. Work began at the four places in March this year. 

They have set a target to complete it by the end of July, he informed. The DSO said while local athletes will be benefited from the facility, the mini stadiums will also help them organise sporting events.With concrete jungle coming up and Sambalpur taking a big leap towards urbanisation, playground has shrunk to a large extent and youngsters hardly have space to play and unwind themselves.

The four mini stadiums will come as a boon for the youngsters and local athletes and development of sports activities in the city. 
Earlier, Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) had developed five mini stadiums at Dengimocha, Themra, Dhankauda, Mandlia and Netaji Subash Chandra Bose (NSCB) College here from the fund provided by the Sports and Youth Services department.