Rourkela, Feb 16 (UNI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for a world class Hockey stadium in this steel city, set to be the largest in the country.

The most modern field hockey facility and is designed to host the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 tournament, would be named after eminent tribal freedom fighter Bisra Munda, Mr Patnaik proposed.

Laying the foundation stone of the Stadium, he said the proposed Hockey stadium, located within the sprawling campus of Biju Patnaik University of Technology, will be a new benchmark in global stadium design for hockey.

The stadium will offer one of the finest spectator experiences in the world and, with a chaired seated capacity exceeding 20000,the largest in the country.

CM said the stadium will be a model of green, functional, cost effective design.

It is designed to deliver the best match day atmospheres in the world in which each seat will have uninterrupted sightlines and the spectators will be closer to the pitch than at any other hockey stadium in the world.

Official sources said the proposed hockey stadium will provide a seamless facility to host the World Cup as every aspect technical and operational compliances have been met as per the Hockey India guidelines.

The Chief Minister also launched several infrastructure development projects worth Rs 4915 crore for Sundergarh district.

The development projects launched today are samples of transformation and development, Patnaik said and sought the cooperation of all for the continuation of this development process in the coming days.

The Chief Minister said 20 years back the budget of the state was only Rs 2800 crore but today the budget for Sundergarh district alone was Rs 5000 crore.

He described Rourkela as a city of hope and reiterated his demand to include Mundali and HO dialect in the eighth schedule of the constitution.

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