Odisha Chief Secretary says stadium, airport in Rourkela ready for Men’s Hockey World Cup
Odisha Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra on Monday said that India’s biggest hockey stadium and airport in Rourkela is ready ahead of the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup. Mohapatra, who visited both the facilities along with VK Pandian, secretary to the state chief minister, said the airport in the ‘steel city’ would become operational in the next few days. Rourkela is one of the two venues for the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, starting January 13. Mohapatra said, “As per the instructions of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, we inspected the stadium as well as the airport today.The work of airstrip and terminal building has been completed. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also been inspected.
He said that some formalities are pending, after which regular flight services between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela would start. The official said that Alliance Air will operate four flights daily between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela during the World Cup. Apart from this, the state government will also provide chartered aircraft between the two cities to transport the hockey players.
Mohapatra said that Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, India’s largest hockey stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000 people, is also ready and practice matches will start here from December 24. He said that three practice matches would be played here, including the practice match between India and Spain. Necessary changes will be made based on the feedback received from the players.
