The state's demand for an international-class cricket stadium has finally been fulfilled with Oil Giant Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Limited giving its nod to take up the project. The foundation stone of the complex will be laid at Raipur in Dehradun tomorrow. The ONGC will be making an investment of Rs 100 crore for the cricket complex that will include a stadium and cricket academy. While cricket is regularly played in almost all boarding schools of Dehradun, Haridwar, Halwani and Nainital, the talent fails to get right encouragement in the state due to the absence of adequate infrastructure. There is no international-level cricket stadium in the entire state. Sports Minister Dinesh Agarwal said the cricket complex would come up on a 23 acres in Raipur and would be one of its kind in the country. He said Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and President, Indian Premier League Rajeev Shukla, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva, Cabinet minister Yashpal Arya and Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma would be present at the stone laying ceremony that would be held on the Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Raipur, here tomorrow. Dinesh Agarwal said besides the ONGC, the Uttarakhand Government would also invest Rs 100 crore in the ambitious project. Meanwhile, sources in the ONGC said it was constructing the stadium under its corporate social responsibility initiative. Welcoming this move, Ajay Pandey, a Dehradun-based senior cricketer, said a cricket stadium in Dehradun was like a dream come true for the budding cricket talent of Dehradun. He said at least, youngsters would now get an opportunity to showcase their talent. He said it would also attract international matches to Dehradun.
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