Bhubaneswar: Amid controversy over the proposal to create a sports complex on the unused land of Kalinga Studio, the Sports department Sunday clarified that it was just a proposal and no final decision was taken in this regard.
“Since the city is growing, we have requested General Administration (GA) department to identify land patches for setting up sports complex and playgrounds in different parts of the city. The letter about Kalinga Studio was also written with the same objective,” Sports and Youth Services Secretary Vishal Dev said in a statement.
In his letter to GA department, Dev had proposed for allotment of the unutilised vacant stretch of land of Kalinga Studio for developing a sports complex.
“It is a simple proposal from our side and no decision has been taken at government level,” he said, adding the GA department gets requests for land from different departments and agencies.
This proposal, however, has sparked a row within Odia film industry. Odisha Film Development Corporation chairman Munna Khan had also opposed the move. In his reaction, Odia film star Mihir Das accused the state government of showing step-motherly attitude towards Odia cine industry. He said Odia actors and actresses will strongly oppose such move to attack their home.