Lucknow, Oct 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a world-class stadium in his parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on October 20.
Named after the second Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium is located in Sigra, Varanasi.
Varanasi District Magistrate said that the stadium is completely ready for the sportsmen and spans approximately 15 acres.
“This will be the city's largest stadium. It is equipped with all facilities and was built at a cost of around ₹200 crore,” said Varanasi District Magistrate.
He added that this biggest stadium has been prepared in three phases. “The first phase has a multi-purpose hall and an Olympic size swimming pool while the second phase has a cricket ground, a national centre of excellence as well as hostels for players and coaches,” said Varanasi District Magistrate.
He said that the third phase has a synthetic track for athletics.
“Any players can come here for practice. The stadium has not been restricted for the players of Varanasi,” he said.
Satyam Singh, a shooter, said that the most notable thing is that the players did not have any infrastructure like this before.
“The children didn’t even know what shooting is or how it works. With the new stadium, they will be able to come here and practice at the facility,” Singh said.
Pankaj Srivastava, Executive Member of the District Rifle Club said that the stadium is the best sports centre in the area.
“This facility should have been built 15 years ago. We are far behind other regions because we do not have international-level sports facilities. We lack an international shooting range in the state,” said Srivastava.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reviewed the progress of the stadium on June 18.
"Reviewed the progress at the Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Kashi. This stadium and sports complex will greatly help the youth of Kashi," PM Modi wrote on X.
Apart from a 150-room hostel for players equipped with modern facilities, Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium can also host 50 games including Judo, Karate, Table Tennis, Shooting, Lawn Tennis, Cricket and Hockey as per international standards.
--IANS
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