Bhubaneswar, June 17: "Project mode, not programme mode" -- these were the words of Sports & Youth Services Minister Suryabanshi Suraj while speaking about the newly-formed BJP government's vision for sports in Odisha.

"We will be on project mode, not in programme mode," said Suryabanshi shedding lights on the government's approach for sports' development in the state. 

After taking charge of the DSYS (Department of Sports & Youth Services), Govt. of Odisha, Suryabanshi made his first visit to Kalinga Stadium Monday. He held a review meeting with Sports Secretary Vineel Krishna, Higher Education Secretary Aravind Agarwal, Hockey Promotion Council Chairman Deepankar Mohapatra and few others.

"It was a review meeting about the steps which were taken in recent days and how many of them are effective. There will be a thorough review in coming days," said Suryabanshi after the meeting.  

He praised the state's performance at national level competitions, but now the vision is to be recognised at the international level. He also said that Odisha will be known as the 'SPorts Capital of the World'.

"We hope that when Odisha completes its centenary, the state will be known as the 'Sports capital of the world'. From today we will go into project mode and not programme mode," asserted Suryabanshi.

The discussions also took place about "How World Yoga Day can be celebrated on a grand scale". "Infrastructure improvements are also needed. The infrastructure is there but we will try to make it accessable at the grassroots level," he signed off.

Read more: Odisha news