Lokesh to inaugurate cricket stadium in Tirupati today

Tirupati: IT and HRD minister Nara Lokesh will inaugurate the NTR cricket stadium at Gollavanigunta in Tirupati on Wednesday. Named after TDP founder and former chief minister NT Rama Rao, the flood-lit stadium has five practice pitches, besides courts for volleyball, kabaddi, kho-kho, and ball badminton. The pavilion can accommodate 5,000 visitors. Tirupati Smart City Corporation, Tirupati Urban Development Authority, and the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh together allocated ₹10 crore for the stadium, which is spread over 9.5 acres at Gollavanigunta. Lokesh will also inaugurate the Nara Rammurthy Naidu Kreeda Vikasa Kendram at Chandragiri, which has been developed in an extent of 2.5 acres at a cost of ₹3 crore. He will also lay the foundation stone for Karanam Malleswari Weightlifting Academy, which will come up at the Srinivasa Sports Complex in Tirupati, where a boxing ring as per national standards will also be built. Lokesh will initiatiate the construction of a multipurpose stadium worth ₹2.2 crore at Kota (Gudur constituency), a sporting facility worth ₹2 crore at Sullurpeta govt high school which also hosts the annual flamingo festival, and ₹80 lakh worth sports infra at the Renigunta tribal school and hostel.