Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone of an international cricket stadium in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi in the presence of several leading cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar.
Addressing a function on this occasion, Modi said that cricket was today 'uniting' the world. ''New nations are joining the cricket playing countries," the prime minister said, adding that there will be a need for new stadiums when the number of matches increase.
The stadium is set to have capacity to seat 30 thousand people.
Modi said that it would be the first stadium in Uttar Pradesh constructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The stadium will have seven practice pitches and it will provide training facilities to the players from the 'Poorvanchal' (eastern UP region), Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
Keeping in line with the mythological belief that 'Kashi' (old name of Varanasi) stood on the trident of Lord Shiva, flood lights in the stadium will be trident shaped. The stadium will be made in a crescent shape and its design will have the shape of a 'damaru' (power drum), an instrument played by the disciples of Lord Shiva.
According to the sources the BCCI would spend Rs 330 crore on the construction of the stadium. The state government had spent Rs 121 crore in acquiring the land for the stadium.
Leading cricketers of the country, including Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, were present on this occasion. Tendulkar also presented a Team india jersey to Modi with 'Namo' written on its back.