The Hindu : Naidu pleased with hockey venue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2003

Sport

Sport - Asian Games

Naidu pleased with hockey venue

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD OCT. 20. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, formally inaugurated the hockey venue at the Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex at Gachibowli.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naidu lauded the L&T group for completing the "engineering marvel" in a record 69 days.

"We thank them for coming up with a truly world-class facility which makes us wonder whether we are in a developed country," Mr. Naidu said.

The complex which has two grounds (one floodlit) is the only one of its kind in India where two astro-turf venues are in close proximity.

"We have been successful in creating world-class infrastructure for sports in the last two years. Our ultimate objective is to see many more Indians win medals in the Olympics. The onus is now on the sportspersons to show the results," Mr. Naidu said.

Mr. Naidu went around the floodlit venue and also had a look at the rehearsals going on at the GMC Balayogi Stadium for the grand opening ceremony of the Games.

"The environment is really wonderful and sports friendly. You can't expect a better ambience than this," the Chief Minister said.

"We have proved to the world that Indians can organise international events in grand style," Mr. Naidu said.

A. Ramakrishna, Deputy General Manager, L&T Group, said that the 25,000 sq.ft. building at the venue was completed in a record 29 days, with high accuracy levels. "We just translated the dreams of a dynamic Chief Minister and there was no compromise on quality in any aspect in the construction of the stadium," he said.

The sprinkler system has the capacity to release 40,000 litres of water on the two turfs in just 10 minutes. The engineers also took enough precautions to make sure that the water from the two borewells for maintenance were supported by a water-softening plant, which will ensure longevity of the turfs.

Triple Olympian, Mukesh Kumar, explained to the Chief Minister the salient features of the complex which cost about Rs. six crores and has been specially constructed for the Afro-Asian Games. The galleries can accommodate 500 each in the two venues with a provision to go up to 4500 in the future. The L & T Group has also taken steps to make the venue green and picturesque.

The Chief Minister later released a bulletin Observer.

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