Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his satisfaction on the expedited pace of work at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium ahead of the Odisha Hockey Men`s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. CM said: ``I am very happy to see the work at the Kalinga hockey stadium being done on time. The seating capacity has now been increased to 15,000 which will give an opportunity to more fans to come over and watch the world cup.’’

The CM was joined by Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) Chairman-cum-Managing Director Sanjay Kumar Singh and Sports & Youth Services Department (DSYS) Commissioner-cum-Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev and Director R Vineel Krishna during his inspection of the Kalinga Hockey Stadium.

Vishal Dev noted that the Kalinga Hockey Stadium was well-prepared for hosting the state`s marquee tournament. ``We are quite happy and satisfied with how the infrastructural work is shaping up at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium. Apart the new turf being laid at the hockey ground, we have upgraded the flood lights of both the practice and main pitch,’’ he said.

``We are further giving the entire stadium a face lift by widening the roads, installing a new gate and permanent CCTV cameras from safety point of view. Our aim is to permeate the image of Odisha globally through the Hockey Men`s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018,’’ added Dev.

Elaborating on publicity campaign for the World Cup, the Sports Secretary said: ``We also have a number of campaigns lined up which will begin from next month to create a buzz about the World Cup nationwide. We shall also publicize about the Odisha Hockey Men`s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 at the Hockey Women`s World Cup in London which kickstarts next month.’’
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PHOTO: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik review Hockey World Cup work at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on June 17, 2018.