Kendrapara: The Biju Patnaik Stadium at Saranga locality in this town lies neglected and in a dilapidated condition today. Not a single sports event has been organised at the stadium for the last 13 years. Locals blamed it on administrational apathy and said the stadium is inaccessible as it does not have proper road connectivity.
The stadium is now used by some locals for drying cow-dung cakes and paddy as well. It has also become a den of anti-social activities, the locals said. The stadium was constructed at a cost of over Rs 1 crore.
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It is pertinent to mention here that, Kendrapara district has produced a number of state-level sportspersons. Among them are sprinter Liza Bera and three women cricketers – Sasmita Senapati, Smrutirupa Mallick and Laxmipriya Behera. All the three cricketers are from Teragaon panchayat under Mahakalpada.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Liza has come back from the Sports Hostel. She is staying at her parental house. Since her return, she has been forced to train on roads as the stadium does not have proper facilities. Various sportspersons also complained that their careers are facing a premature end as the town does not have any proper training facilities. They blamed the district administration for such a sorry state of affairs.
On being contacted, district sports officer Lokanath Panigrahi said, “An amount of Rs 31,31,440 was sanctioned for repair of the stadium. We have utilised it for construction of a compound wall and infrastructure development. Provisions for drinking water and electrification of stadium are being made. Proposal for construction of a Sports Hostel in the town awaits government approval. When it is completed it will help the budding talents in Kendrapara district.”
PNN
