SAMBALPUR: In a bid to improve sports infrastructure and provide better facilities to students, the Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) here has planned to develop a sports complex on its premises.
The design and estimate for the proposed sports complex have already been prepared. Deputy Registrar of GMU, Uma Charan Pati, said a patch of land measuring six acres has already been identified near the girls’ hostels on the varsity premises for the proposed sports complex. He said the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has prepared the design of the complex and the estimated cost of the project is `12.5 crore. “The detailed project report (DPR) submitted with the State Government has evoked positive response”, Pati said.
The sports complex will house a swimming pool, hockey turf, lawn tennis court, basket ball court and volley ball court. Besides, galleries for the audience will also be constructed inside the complex. Moreover, facilities for indoor games such as chess and carrom besides a gymnasium will be developed below the gallery, he informed.
The existing playground located in front of the university building, spread over an area of about four acres, will be developed into two grounds. While one ground will be developed as a cricket field, the other will be developed as a football field, Pati said.
He said two Physical Education Officers (PEOs), including one male PEO and another female PEO, will be appointed to guide the sports activities in the university. The deputy registrar further said several students of the institution have brought laurels to the institute by participating in national and State level athletic meets in the past. However, sports activities in the varsity have decreased remarkably due to lack of infrastructure, he said.
Pati hoped the proposed sports complex will boost sports activities in the varsity and produce quality sportsmen. The premier institution of the State, which was established in 1944, was upgraded to university in 2015. Presently, the student strength of GMU is 6,000.