Bhubaneswar, March 16 (IANS) The Odisha government has made an expenditure of Rs 261.76 crore for construction of the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, sports minister Tusharkanti Behera told the state Assembly on Thursday.
In a written statement to a question of BJP legislator Subash Panigrahi, the minister said Rs 124.94 crore from state budget and Rs 136.82 crore from District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund has been utilised for construction of the hockey stadium.
However, the ministry of youth affairs and sports has not allocated any fund for the project, he said.
Behera further informed that the work was done by State PSU Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) within the deadline.
Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium has created Guinness Book of World Records as it is the world’s largest fully seated hockey stadium.
The stadium, which is now a benchmark in hockey infrastructure, was built in a record 15 months and has a seating capacity of 20,011 with uninterrupted viewing experience for all.
Last Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup was organised in the stadium along with Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in January this year. FIH Hockey Pro League was held in the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium between March 10 and 15.
–IANS
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