Odisha Govt conducts a preparatory meeting for Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2023

Bhubaneswar: To ensure the successful hosting of the Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2023, the Odisha government on Monday conducted a high-level preparatory meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“In a few months from now the State will once again host the Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2023. In order to ensure that the marquee event is even bigger and better than its previous edition, a meeting at the level of CMO involving top government officials including Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Private Secretary to Chief Minister (5T) V K Pandian, Principal Secretaries and the Heads of different Departments was held at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar today. Several senior officials from Cuttack and Rourkela administrations joined in through video conferencing,” the CMO stated in a release.

Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra emphasised on the challenges of the event as it will be held in two cities at the same time. “We are confident of ensuring a smooth, successful and memorable World Cup event for players, officials, fans and spectators. We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming the top teams of the world,” he added.

“There are certain areas that need special attention of the State government and we will be reviewing the developments periodically,” Mohapatra stressed.

“Different government Departments have already worked seamlessly and efficiently and executed an exceptional event in 2018 that made a global impact on our image and the same has been asked of them for this edition too. In fact, we are hoping to better the last one by adding new aspects to draw in more crowds, engage fans and also positively impress the visiting tourists,” he added.

Sharing his views, the 5T Secretary VK Pandian said that it is a matter of great pride that Odisha has got the opportunity to host the consecutive edition of Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023, that too at two different venues. “This has never happened before and we should be extremely proud of this. Odisha has set a benchmark in hosting international events,” he said.

He encouraged all department heads to come together and ensure players and fans have a memorable experience and return as brand ambassadors.

Presenting a road map for the mega event, Sports Secretary R Vineel Krishna stated that the construction of infrastructure and facilities in co-host city, Rourkela, is going on in full swing and the development is being monitored closely, which will be ready in the coming months.

Other aspects related to upgradation and beautification of Rourkela is also been keenly taken up by the district Administration. In Bhubaneswar, the new turfs have been laid at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium few months back and is ready for the upcoming matches.

For overall smooth and successful hosting of the World Cup both in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, requirements, roles and responsibilities for different areas including Security, Fire Safety, Transport, Connectivity, Accommodation, Tourism, Information & Technology, Finance, Public Works amongst others were discussed.