Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday reviewed preparations for the upcoming international T20 cricket match between India and South Africa to be played at the historic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on December 9.

Charing a meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, the Chief Minister directed officials of the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) and the state administration to ensure that all arrangements for the match are executed flawlessly.

Describing cricket as one of the most popular sports in the country, he said the nation and the world will be watching this match. Therefore, it is our responsibility to organise it perfectly while upholding Odisha’s honour.

OCA secretary Sanjay Behera briefed the meeting about the preparations, including ticket sales, crowd management, uninterrupted power supply, fire safety, parking facilities, and traffic control measures.

In view of the recent car blast in Delhi, the Chief Minister instructed the police and Home department to maintain a foolproof security plan to ensure the safety of spectators and players. He advised heightened vigilance by security forces during the international event.

Majhi also stressed the importance of creating a dedicated green corridor for the quick evacuation of sick or injured persons, as well as ensuring smooth crowd control, ticket distribution, and emergency medical arrangements.

As discussed in the meeting, each stand at the stadium will accommodate spectators strictly within its seating capacity. For uninterrupted lighting during the match, additional generators have been deployed along with a new monitoring software system. In case of a generator failure, a backup will automatically take over to maintain a continuous power supply.

The meeting was attended among others by Sports and Youth Services Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, CM’s Advisor Prakash Mishra Angul MLA and OCA member Pratap Chandra Pradhan, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu, DGP YB Khurania, Principal Secretary to CM Shashwat Mishra, and OCA President Pankaj Lochan Mohanty.