Parents, students bristle as govt stops free passes

Bhubaneswar: Schoolchildren and parents expressed resentment over the sports department’s move not to provide free passes to schools for students to watch World Cup hockey matches at Kalinga Stadium. Students from different schools were hoping to watch the India match but the department said tickets have been sold out leading to the decision. However, parents said seats are lying empty in stands but children are not being allowed.
“I was super excited to watch the Indian hockey team’s first match at Kalinga Stadium on Thursday. But our teachers informed us that schoolchildren will not be given free passes to the stadium. I am so disappointed. The experience of watching the matches from the gallery must be awesome and I wanted to get a feel of it,” said Akshay Patnaik, a student of IRC Village High School in the city.
In a bid to promote hockey among school kids, the state government has carried out several events in schools ahead of the hockey World Cup under way simultaneously at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
The state government not only set up hockey clubs for kids but also the annual sports days in schools were conducted on the theme of hockey World Cup: promoting hockey among schoolchildren.
A message circulated to all school authorities from the sports department said as the stadium is packed everyday, it is difficult to take chances with free passes.
Spectators who bought tickets will be given priority. Hence, all the nodal officers have been requested to intimate the schools/institutions accordingly.
“If we get tickets for the students in future, it will be intimated to respective schools,” the message said.