CM Sarma Inaugurates Naharkatia Multi Sports Complex to Boost Assam Sports
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurates the Naharkatia Multi Sports Complex, featuring football, swimming, and athletics facilities to boost Assam sports.
In a significant move to bolster the sporting landscape of Northeast India, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday officially inaugurated the Naharkatia Multi Sports Complex. This landmark facility marks a major upgrade for the Naharkatia Legislative Assembly Constituency, providing a modern hub for training, high-level competitions, and recreational activities.
A World-Class Integrated Sports Hub
The newly opened complex is designed as an integrated campus that brings together multiple disciplines under one roof. The facility is equipped to cater to various sporting needs, ensuring that local athletes have access to professional-grade infrastructure. Key features of the complex include:
- Football Infrastructure: A dedicated football field featuring an advanced underground drainage system and a specialized sprinkler system for optimal field maintenance.
- Athletics Facilities: An earthen running track that surrounds the football field, designed for track and field training.
- Aquatics: A swimming pool measuring 25 metres by 15 metres, complete with a water filtration and circulation system, spectator galleries, and separate changing rooms and showers for boys and girls.
- Essential Amenities: A covered RCC spectator gallery, a gymnasium, players’ dressing rooms, a medical and first-aid room, a canteen, and an administrative building.
- Professional Spaces: The complex also includes a VIP lounge and dedicated meeting and conference rooms to facilitate official sporting events.
Cricket Boost with New International-Standard Stadium
Adding to the sporting windfall for the region, the Assam Cricket Association has also completed an international-standard cricket stadium in Naharkatia. This stadium is built to host high-profile matches and includes a pavilion with dressing rooms, a referee’s room, office facilities, a dining area, and dormitory accommodation. It also offers both indoor and outdoor practice facilities, along with a green spectator gallery with a seating capacity of 150 persons.
Honouring a Glorious Sporting Legacy
During the inauguration ceremony, Chief Minister Sarma highlighted that Naharkatia is not just a place of natural beauty but a region with a profound sporting history. He paid a moving tribute to the late Toshen Bora, a legendary footballer who represented India at the 1970 Asian Games and the 1972 Pre-Olympic Football Tournament in Rangoon. Bora made history as the first person from the Northeast to serve as a selector for the Indian national football team.
The Chief Minister also took a moment to recognize the diverse talent emerging from the constituency, mentioning several notable names:
- Football: Bonti Gogoi (Indian women’s national team), Pallabita Bora, Biju Gogoi, and Thagit Sonowal.
- Hockey: The late Jayanta Sonowal and Hiren Gogoi.
- Athletics: International-level athlete Pamila Devi and Hemi Das.
- Volleyball: The region's contribution to Assam's first volleyball team, including NIS coach Jaishree Gogoi and player Neha Kumari.
A Powerhouse for Women's Sports
Chief Minister Sarma specifically lauded the dominance of the Naharkatia girls’ hockey team, which has secured state championships at senior, junior, and sub-junior levels. He noted that between 2010 and 2025, more than 100 girls from Naharkatia have had the privilege of representing Assam at the national level, with the team winning the state championship an incredible ten times.
He further commended the constituency's performance in the Khel Maharan, where Naharkatia emerged as a dominant force in disciplines such as kabaddi, proving that the region is a rising powerhouse in the Indian sporting arena.