At 1.30 PM on Saturday, September 23, PM Narendra Modi is set to lay the foundation stone of the iconic Varanasi Cricket Stadium that is to be built in Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh. This will be the third international stadium in Uttar Pradesh, following the ones in Kanpur and Lucknow.
The event is set to be a massive ceremony today as the BCCI has invited the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and also the greatest cricketing icon of the country, Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar recently uploaded a photo on social media with Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, both of whom are also in attendance today in Varanasi. Varanasi is also PM Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.
The Press Information Bureau, Government of India, released a statement saying: “International cricket stadium in Varanasi will be a step towards realising Prime Minister’s vision to develop modern world class sports infrastructure.”
This “modern” international cricket stadium will be constructed in Ganjari, Rajatalab, Varanasi. It is set to be build in more than 30 acre area, and will cost around INR 450 crores.
The theme of the Varanasi Cricket Stadium makes it the most unique stadium in the world
What makes this stadium so special and unique is that the theme of this marvel of a stadium ‘draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with designs developed for crescent shaped roof covers, trident shaped flood-lights, ghat steps based seating, Bilvipatra shaped metallic sheets on the facade’.
The cricket stadium in Varanasi will have a capacity of 30,000 fans.
This project is being undertaken by both the BCCI and the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Uttar Pradesh government revealed that it has spent INR 121 crore to buy the land for the stadium while the BCCI will be spending INR 330 crore on its construction.
Along with PM Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, other Indian cricket legends, in attendance today will be BCCI President Roger Binny, Vice President Rajiv Shukla, and Secretary Jay Shah.
It has been reported that the BCCI wishes to complete the construction of this stadium by the end of 2024, which would need a herculean task from the workers.
Kaushal Raj Sharma, the Divisional Commissioner, said: “Preparations at Ganjari are being started for the proposed visit of the Prime Minister to lay the foundation stone of the cricket stadium on September 23. It will be a grand show as apart from BCCI office-bearers, star cricketers are also likely to take part in the ceremony.”
