Hockey World Cup: Odisha Government takes steps to make stadium accessible for everyone

The Hockey World Cup 2023 is currently taking place in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela in the Indian state of Odisha.

Alongside the continuous patronage of the sport, the Odisha government has taken some steps to make the stadiums accessible to everyone.

The Odisha Government has made special arrangements to make the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela easily accessible for the differently-abled so that they can experience the matches without any inconvenience.

The Birsa Munda Stadium was completed in just fifteen months, while the World Cup Village was built in Nine months. In order to make the arrangement more friendly, special emphasis has been placed to build a ramp that leads to the lift, taking the differently abled fans to the floor having access to the stand on the first tier.

"A differently-abled person can enter the stadium from any gate. We have made it universally accessible for them. The stadium has about 100 seats allocated for them," Vineel Krishna, Odisha Sports Secretary said.

Besides arrangements for differently abled people, the stadium aims to provide a classic match experience for all fans visiting the venue.

The gallery seating is designed in such a way that there will not be any vision block for fans irrespective of where they are seated in the stadium. Fans will never miss the live action. The state government has followed all norms and the protocols. The stadium has been divided into two levels - the lower bowl and the upper bowl.

All efforts have been made considering the overall fan experience and values the needs of differently-abled people and have taken concrete steps to include them in community events and activities. The new stadium is a prime example of the commitment towards making events inclusive for all, which has been lauded by the netizens.

Odisha Government has been supportive of the game of hockey for a long time. They have taken many initiatives to enhance the infrastructure of hockey in the state and now hosting the World Cup for the second time in a row.

(with inputs from agency)