Bhubaneswar: On the side lines of the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023, the Organising Committee of the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, convened a meeting with senior officials of Hockey India and reviewed preparedness for the event.
The meeting was chaired by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra. Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena, DG Police Sunil Kumar Bansal, DG Fire Services, Santosh Upadhyay, President Hockey India, Dilip Tirkey was also present, along with all departmental HoDs who were given insutrctions by the CS on smooth and incident-free conduct of the grand event.
Thrust was laid on connectivity, hospitality, and showcasing Odisha as the land of heritage and culture besides being a hockey hub. Discussions in the meeting showed that Commercial flights to Rourkela were expected to commence from December 2022.
Provisions are being made for charter flights between two venues of the World Cup for the teams. Special buses would also ply during the World Cup to make it easy for players, officials and spectators to have a smooth experience.
Special attractions were being curated by the Tourism Department to make a lasting impression on the visitors and fans.
Mahapatra directed to utilise the marquee event for promoting hockey amongst children. It was decided to orgay sports carnivals and sports events at district level in association with schools.
The meeting also looked into the matters relating to Technology, Security, Safety, Pollution, Beautification, promotion, City fests etc.
Sports Secretary Vineel Krisha said, “Under the leadership of visionary Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, Odisha has set a benchmark with the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 and the state is committed and working towards hosting this at a spectacular scale.”
City festivals were planned in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela for the mega event. Similarly the district level festivals were also planned in major towns across the State to celebrate the Hockey World Cup.
Krishna presented a report on the various functional areas of the event for the two venues, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. He said that collective efforts between departments would ensure timely completion of the venues and related infrastructure for the tournament.
Mahapatra laid focus on adoption of green practices at the two venues.
The 2023 edition of the Hockey World Cup has stirred the emotions and enthusiasm of fans and players, and people are eagerly looking forward to January when Odisha will once again demonstrate why it has evolved to become a global hub of hockey.
