VARANASI: The facade of the proposed international cricket stadium at Ganjari will bear features reminiscent of Kashi and its lord Vishwanath.
The roofs will be in the form of crescent that crowns Lord Shiva and floodlights will be shaped like tridents.
"Galleries will be styled like Kashi’s ghats along the Ganga, huge motifs of ‘bilva patra’ (leaves of bael or Aegle Marmelos) in metallic frames will be installed at different spots in the stadium and the pavilion and VIP lounge building would be in the shape of damru (pellet drum)", said divisional commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, talking to TOI on Tuesday.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation of the international cricket stadium in his parliamentary constituency, legendary cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Board of Control for Cricket in India president Roger Binny would be accompanying him on September 23.
"Participation of cricket legends of the 1983 World Cup, including Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Madan Lal, Gundappa Vishwanath, Karsan Ghavri, Roger Binny, along with Sachin Tendulkar and BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla and secretary Jai Shah in the international cricket stadium’s foundation laying ceremony at Ganjari on September 23, has been confirmed," said Sharma, adding that the construction company has finalised a design inspired by Lord Shiva and Kashi’s iconic ghats.
For the Rs 450-crore project, the state government has spent Rs 120 crore on acquiring land, while BCCI is spending Rs 330 crore on the construction done by infrastructure giant L&T, said officials, adding that the international cricket stadium with seating capacity of 30,000 would be ready over next two years.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday inspected the site at Ganjari, along the ring-road, where PM will lay foundation of stadium on September 23, after which he had directed Varanasi officials to finalise plan for development of area in the vicinity of the proposed stadium with provision of hotels, restaurants and mega commercial activities.
