Mihir Vasavda: “Never, never even in my imagination.”
It’s been two years since Rourkela was announced as the co-host of the 2023 Hockey World Cup but 2000 Olympian Lazarus Barla still finds it tough to believe that the world’s 16 best nations will play in this quiet steel city. “It’s like a dream,” he says while overseeing training at the Panposh Sports Hostel.
The former international is in charge of this fabled academy, situated at a breathtaking location; slightly uphill with a clear view of the confluence of three rivers, Shankh, Koel and Sarasvati. It’s not a coincidence that some of the calmest defenders who have played for India started their careers at this serene facility.
The scene at the site of Barla’s ‘dream’, though, couldn’t be starker. A couple of kilometres from Panposh, earthmovers plow the 15-acre land and cranes do the heavy lifting as a workforce of hundreds — most of them migrant workers from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand — is hard at work 24×7 in three shifts of eight hours, surrounded by dust, to construct what will be India’s biggest hockey stadium.
The 21,000-seater, saucer-shaped arena will be second only to Lahore’s National Stadium in terms of size. Adjacent to it, a single-strip aerodrome is set to be upgraded and a multi-purpose building on site, which was used as a Covid hospital, is likely to be turned into a 200-room hotel where the teams will be put up.
It’s an ambitious project, given that the organisers have just seven months to finish it. But Rourkela — divided into two separate townships, steel and civil — is using the Hockey World Cup as a catalyst to transform itself completely.
“We are in the midst of an extremely good, mineral-rich region but then there are some areas that are not developed as much as we desire,” District Collector Nikhil Pavan Kalyan says.
In November 2019, when Odisha was selected by the International Hockey Federation to host its flagship event for the second time in a row, it was assumed that Bhubaneswar would be the sole venue like it was in 2018.
But in what is believed to be a last-minute decision, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, whose BJD has been trying to make inroads into western Odisha, announced that Rourkela would co-host the event, which will be held from January 13 to 29, 2023.
It’s not new for governments to use major sporting events to develop their cities. Delhi is still reaping benefits from the infrastructure constructed for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, London developed its neglected East End ahead of the 2012 Olympics and Qatar upgraded its cities at a dizzying speed to get ready for next winter’s football World Cup.
A little more than a year before the 16-team event begins, Rourkela — placed 54th out of 62 in the ease of living index for cities with a population of less than a million, ranking low on most counts — is a new city under construction.
The administration has launched projects worth approximately Rs 650 crore, excluding the cost of the main stadium, which is estimated at Rs 130 crore. From building wider roads to developing sports and recreation centres, from fixing the city’s drainage system to moving overhead power lines underground, and from uplifting the parks to beautifying its streets, there is work underway at almost every corner. “It’s all planned consciously in a way that we can use the World Cup to develop the city,” Kalyan says. “We want to focus as a destination not only for sports but also for investment for industries, tourism and such.”
R Vineel Krishna, the commissioner-cum-secretary of Odisha’s Sports and Youth Services Department and special secretary to the Chief Minister, says funds for these projects have been raised through a combination of sources, including the state budget, the district mineral funds and CSR. “Along with hockey, there’s massive infrastructure coming up in terms of roads, electricity, water supply and other community facilities,” Krishna says.
There’s something romantic about international hockey coming to this region. The tribal belt around here, including Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Deogarh, has been a constant conveyor belt of world-class talent.
A plaque at the ‘Hockey Chowk’ reminds of all the glorious players who have come out of this remote area: Barla, Dilip Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, William Xalco apart from Tokyo Olympians Deep Grace Ekka, Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas, whose names are yet to be enshrined here. Three players in India’s Junior World Cup squad – Sudeep Chirmako, Sunil Jojo and Abhishek Lakra – too are from this area.
“More than 85 players have come from this district. Very few regions have made such a contribution to one sport,” Barla says.
A lot of these players have, at some point, trained at the Panposh Sports Hostel. The hostel scheme was started in 1985 and even today, the place seems to be stuck in time. There are two turfs: one of full size, placed on what was once a rice field, and the other slightly smaller, which Barla says was installed around 1993 or 1994.
It’s now torn and balding, making it dangerous to play. The changing rooms are a couple of hundred metres away. The facilities are all very simple and basic, far removed from the fact that just a few miles away, a brand new facility, touted to be the ‘most modern’ hockey stadium in the country, is being erected.
But it is a race against time. The work at the stadium, which began in August, is still in early stages and will have to be completed by the middle of next year to ensure there is enough time to lay the artificial turf and conduct test events.
There are logistical hurdles as well. There are plans to upgrade the Rourkela aerodrome and Air Traffic Control Tower to handle 76-seater aircraft and flights were to be scheduled under the Centre’s UDAN scheme for regional connectivity. But that still has not materialised.
Krishna allayed any fears, saying he is confident that the timelines will be adhered to. “We practically decided around last December to go ahead with it (the new stadium) and when we started the preparation, it got affected by Covid. But now it’s coming up really well. We hope in the next seven-eight months it will be completely ready for the test event,” Krishna says. “What happens with these events is it’s a nonnegotiable timeline… everybody has to ensure that whatever is required for the event is in place.”
There are also concerns that the country’s biggest hockey stadium will turn into a white elephant after the World Cup is over. Odisha has extended its sponsorship with Hockey India until 2033. It also is a partner of the international federation, which means global events are likely to return to this region for a foreseeable future.
But with similar investments also made in Bhubaneswar, which is better connected to major cities as well, the fate of the Rourkela stadium remains unclear.
At Panposh, where future India stars train on a worn-out turf, it is hoped that at least they will be allowed to use the facility. “They should be allowed,” Barla says. “If the locals won’t be able to use it, then how else will they learn?”
Questions have also been raised over the alleged diversion of funds meant for mining-affected communities in Sundergarh district for the construction of the stadium. Environmentalists have said that instead of sporting infrastructure, the money should be used for those who are directly affected by mining.
A fortnight ago, the issue took another political turn after the BJP, in a press conference, accused the state government of “cheating the common man”.
Amidst all the concerns and allegations, the work to complete the infrastructure for the biggest sporting event to be held in this region presses ahead.
“This will be huge for tribal kids in the countryside. It’ll have very high social significance,” Tirkey, the former India captain, says. “Until now Rourkela did not even host an international match. Now, a World Cup will take place there. Just imagine.” (The Indian Express)
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