SAMBALPUR: Hockey players of Jujumura took out a rally in Sambalpur city on Tuesday demanding early completion of the astro-turf ground in the tribal-dominated block. The players under the aegis of Utsav Parivar also submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over their demand to Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Umakanta Raj.
Secretary of the outfit Jayanta Pradhan said the state government had decided to develop a hockey ground fitted with astro-turf at Jujumura. However, though more than two years have passed since the tender process, the work on the project has not made much progress. “Surprisingly, the government is not serious over the issue. We demand immediate steps for early completion of the project so that budding hockey players of our area get good infrastructure to practice and hone their skills,” he said.
Rajat Minz, a hockey player, said around 50 teams participate in the rural hockey tournament organised at Jujumura every year. Though the youths have talent and aspire to play at the national level, they are unable to get opportunities due to a lack of proper infrastructure. “We are hopeful that the government will develop the ground soon so that we can prepare ourselves for bigger tournaments,” Minz added.
Official sources said an astro-turf which was removed from the Hockey Complex at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, was brought to Sambalpur in 2018 for relaying at Jujumura. Subsequently, tender for the work was floated. The tender process was completed in June 2019. However, no visible progress has been made since then. The inordinate delay has now cast doubt on the implementation of the project. ADM Raj assured the hockey players of placing their demand at the appropriate forum.