In addition to the 53 international cricket stadiums, India is going to have one more international cricket stadium. It is a matter of happiness for the people in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that they will get a new cricket stadium in addition to the other two stadiums in their region. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to get a new international stadium spending almost Rs 300 crores in Varanasi. Nothing can be more satisfying than this news to cricket lovers in the same area.

New cricket stadium in Varanasi:

The management team of BCCI visited the Ganjari village area in Varanasi last week. Vice-president Rajiv Shukla and secretary Jai Shah led the BCCI team to earmark the new Rs 300 crores cricket stadium site that day. The sources said that the team is learnt to have the site approval for the BCCI-funded project. The state government will provide the land on which the stadium will be built on lease.

According to the knowledge, this upcoming stadium is going to be the third international cricket stadium in the state. Before this, the state has two more cricket stadiums, one is in Green Park in Kanpur, and the second one is the Ekana cricket stadium in Lucknow. This is also good news for the people of Bihar as it will also draw crowds from Bihar. Now onwards, some of the international cricket matches will be conducted over this stadium.

According to the source, all the legal and other formalities are already done for the purpose of this stadium. The company who has taken the contract of building the cricket stadium has ensured to execute the plan within the next two months. The government of UP has released a fund worth Rs 120 crores for the acquisition of 31 acres of land from the local farmers. There the construction fees will be provided by the BCCI itself, which is Rs 300 crores. According to officials, the land will be transferred to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association and the BCCI by the end of this month.

Statements by the officials:

After the site inspection, the divisional commissioner Mr Kushal Raj Sharma, stated, “Shukla and Shah, in the presence of UPCA office-bearers including Yudhvir Singh and Uday Sinha, inspected the site where 31 acres of land have already been purchased from the farmers with a fund Rs 120 crores released by the UP government. The BCCI and UPCA authorities were satisfied with the site… The land in the Ganjari area will be given to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association on a 30-year lease by the UP government”. He also added, “The lease period can be extended up to 90 years.

The BCCI will fund this project for the construction of the cricket stadium at the cost of Rs 300 crores. For the proposed stadium with a 30,000-seating capacity, the BCCI will select a project management consultant and contractor for the construction work who have expertise in this field through a tender process.”

Regarding the expected time for the construction, Mr Sharma said, “This process may take up to two months to be completed. Therefore, the BCCI and UPCA officials decided to hold the foundation laying ceremony of the proposed stadium after the completion of the process so that work on the project is started immediately after the ceremony is over.” While they visited the spot in Rajatalab Tehsil, there was also a discussion about widening the existing roads between the UPCA and the BCCI authorities. BCCI was assured that once the project starts running, the UPCA will contact the state government for the required upgrades of the roads.

Mr Shukla, BCCI secretary Shah and the prime authority of UPCA have been camping in the area since the beginning of the last week. They had a discussion at a meeting in the Taj hotel where they discussed the structure of the cricket stadium, its betterment, improvements, etc. The discussion was very fruitful that it got proceeded to the fields practically. Now the initiative is completely taken by the UPCA officials.

Wrap lines:

The inauguration of the new stadium will open a new wing to the local people of Ganjari. It will open many scopes of earning money and get some services regarding the cricket stadium and the ground. However, it was in 2022 when the state government paved the scope for building an international stadium in the Lok Sabha constituency of PM Narendra Modi showing budgetary provision to purchase land in Raja Talab Tehsil on Ring Road.