By Richard Bright
Bhubaneswar, host of this year’s men’s World Cup, will see an upsurge in wall murals with a hockey theme ahead of the December event in India
Officials are chalking out plans for a city-wide facelift to improve “infrastructure, transportation and ambience” for the 16-team competition.
With less than six months to go, the local civic body will be executing three main projects which will help in building the core infrastructure of the city.
First of these measures will be to provide mechanical sweeping to an 80 km stretch of main road which will include areas around the Kalinga Hockey Stadium.
Around 100 e-toilets will also be set-up in the city which “might have auto cleaning facility”, while a drainage system will be implemented to deal with monsoons.
Artists from all over the state have also been commissioned to paint the city with their creative ideas on hockey. A similar project was used for the Asian Athletics Championships last year.
Meanwhile, renovation work of the Kalinga Hockey Stadium has also entered its final phase with the capacity being increased to 15,000 by extending the stands and building two new galleries.
And if travelling by tuk-tuk or taxi doesn’t excite fans, then the city is also implementing a Public Bicycle Sharing System, which will see 1500 smart bicycles being provided at docking stations across the city.
As with other high-profile FIH events, there will also be large screens erected in public places for fans to enjoy the World Cup experience.
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Mr Vishal Dev, of the Government of Odisha, said: “We are taking several measures to ensure that the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 is a grand success.
“The city of Bhubaneswar is going through a massive overhaul which will make it a favourable destination for all hockey enthusiasts from across the globe.”#
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