BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Monday announced in a press release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) that all educational institutions and government offices in the state will remain closed for the opening ceremony of the Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup today after 1.30 pm.
The inaugural event will be held Tuesday evening with the likes of AR Rahman, Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit set to perform.
The matches for the World Cup will begin at Kalinga Stadium here from Wednesday.
However, Cuttack’s educational institutions and government offices will be shut on Wednesday as well in view of the Hockey World Cup celebrations event scheduled to be held at the Barabati Stadium.
Tight security
Odisha director general of Police (DGP) Rajendra Prasad Sharma said tight security arrangements have been made for the smooth and successful conduct of the World Cup.
IANS quotes Sharma as stating that security has been tightened at the city airport and hotels where the players and delegates are accommodated.
Besides, frequent sanitizing drills are being performed at the Kalinga Stadium to detect the presence of explosives, he added.
“There are celebrities for the opening ceremony which invites enthusiasm of the crowd throwing a challenge for the security forces. The main objective would be to ensure that the entire event passes off peacefully and incident-free,” said the DGP.
Meanwhile, the legends of the 1975 World Cup-winning hockey team also arrived in the state capital ahead of the opening ceremony.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday met the captains of all 16 teams of the tournament and participated with them in a photo shoot at the Mukteshwar Temple here.
