Rs 50cr for Siliguri stadium

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 31 Jan 2019, Siliguri: The Bengal government has sanctioned Rs 50 crore to improve infrastructure at the Kanchenjungha Stadium here, representatives of the Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad said here on Wednesday.

On January 25, a delegation of the SMKP and the stadium committee had met tourism minister Gautam Deb at his office in the Mainak Tourist Lodge Complex here.

"We explained to him about the need to improve infrastructure at the stadium so that we can host national football tournaments. The minister then told us that the state department of sports and youth affairs had sanctioned Rs 50 crore," said a member of the SMKP, the subdivisional sports body of Siliguri.

Arup Ratan Ghosh, the SMKP secretary, said the funds would be used to build changing rooms of international standard for players, a tunnel at the players' entrance among others. "A VIP block in the gallery with appropriate amenities, a full-fledged media centre and a modern multigym will also be built at the stadium," said Ghosh.

The stadium was built in 1988 and was once considered as one of the finest football grounds after the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Calcutta. The Siliguri stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000. The last major national soccer event was held at the stadium in 2017.