When Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik decided to host the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships-2017 in Odisha, a herculean task was waiting for the State administration as the Kalinga Stadium was to be totally renovated in a mere 90 days.
Chief Secretary AP Padhi and Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan asked Works Secretary Nalini Kanta Pradhan to complete the difficult assignment in a time-bound manner. Most importantly, the Chief Minister’s Special Secretary V Karthikeyan Pandian was coordinating the entire process day in and day out.
The Kalinga Stadium, which will also hold Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018, underwent a major renovation with world standards ahead of the Asian Athletics Championships. As many as 41 rooms and 44 toilets in the stadium premises were renovated.
“Toilet is a very sensitive issue. The officials were au fait that cleaner toilets will give the right impression to the athletes about the city. So, no stone was left unturned to make the toilets neat and germ-free,” said an official.
Officials of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs that manages the stadium worked extra hours to make all the necessary arrangements.
The relay track at the main stadium was replaced with international standard synthetic track. Floodlight stands and separate tracks were also prepared for events like long jump, high jump and other events. The chairs at the main stadium for nearly 5,000 people were also replaced for the mega event.
Sports and Youth Affairs Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev, a serious bureaucrat, monitored the stadium renovation works on a daily basis looking into finer details. Two new tracks along with a warm-up track were prepared. A world-class gymnasium and an elevator were also set up. International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) president lord Sebastian Coe expressed his happiness over Odisha making all the arrangements for the event in just three months.
Dev pointed out that the State Government’s aim was not only to host the mega event but also to set up a high-performance academy at the Kalinga Stadium.
“We spoke to the IAAF president regarding setting up a high-performance academy. The IAAF and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will assist us to get world-class coaches who will produce world-class athletes,” he said.
The academy’s aim is to produce Olympic medallists from across the country, but priority would be given to the athletes from Odisha, Dev informed. During the inaugural ceremony of the athletics on July 5, AFI president Sumariwala said Bhubaneswar gave them an opportunity to bring the event to India.
“The Government of Jharkhand denied hosting the event. The country’s prestige was at stake, but the Odisha Government accepted the challenge and revamped the Kalinga Stadium in just three months,” Sumariwala added.
The Odisha Government spent around Rs 43 crore for the sports extravaganza.