A synthetic athletics track, a fleet of electric buses, solar power, and a new school — all in one day. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday, 1 November 2026 inaugurated a sweeping cluster of infrastructure projects in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, declaring that the city's new world-class sports facilities will one day produce medal-winners for India. The centrepiece of the event was the Divisional Sports Complex, where a ₹12.75 crore synthetic athletics facility has been developed — an 8-lane, 400-metre synthetic athletics track with a natural-grass football ground alongside it. For sprint events, 10 lanes are available on the 100-metre straight. The track is equipped for a full range of disciplines: sprints, hurdles, relays, long jump, high jump, shot put, and javelin. The football ground comes fitted with a modern sprinkler irrigation system.

Floodlit Nights and a ₹11.67 Crore Lighting Grid

Covering the facility after dark is a ₹11,67,42,000 floodlight installation — 88 lights mounted across four tall masts, 22 per mast, all within a stadium with a 10,000-spectator capacity. The flood-lights mean athletes and coaches will no longer lose evening hours; training and competition can now run through the night. CM Fadnavis flagged off inaugural 100-metre exhibition races — one for girls, one for boys — on the new track, starting both events with a clap. National- and state-level athletes from the city competed. Fadnavis told the gathering: 'या मैदानावर सराव करणारा एखादा मुलगा किंवा मुलगी भविष्यात भारतासाठी पदक मिळवेल' — 'a boy or girl who practises on this ground will one day win a medal for India.'

A ₹4 Crore Hostel to Keep Athletes in Training

Sports talent rarely survives without a roof and a meal. The complex now includes a ₹4 crore youth hostel with 16 rooms, a conference hall, kitchen, dining hall, library, and reading room — giving Marathwada's young athletes an integrated training-and-living base for the first time.

34 AC Electric Buses Hit the Road on 2 November

The day's other headline was green mobility. CM Fadnavis inaugurated 34 air-conditioned electric buses procured jointly by the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation and the Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation. Each bus is 9 metres long with 32 passenger seats and comes equipped with GPS-based tracking, a digital ticketing system, advanced braking, and fast-charging capability. The buses enter passenger service from Monday, 2 November, running across multiple city routes. The municipal corporation has already planned a further 100 electric buses under the PM e-Bus Yojana, the central government scheme that has been expanding urban electric fleets across India since 2015. Taken together, that would make Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's EV fleet one of the more substantial in Maharashtra's tier-2 cities.

Solar Power, EV Charging, and a CSR-Funded School

Two EV charging stations were also inaugurated — one at Cannaught Place (Cannaught Garden) and another near the Baba Petrol Pump under the Bhagwan Mahavir flyover at Mitmita. Ten more charging sites are planned across the city. At Siddharth Udyan, a 100-kilowatt solar energy project is now operational, cutting the municipal corporation's grid dependence and pushing clean-energy generation. A new primary and secondary school building in Mitmita (Devgiri Valley area) was also dedicated to the city — featuring 24 classrooms, a library, computer lab, science laboratory, smart classes, and a playground. M/s Tapadiya Construction funded the construction entirely through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget.

₹59.14 Lakh Drought Relief Cheque Handed to CM

In a pointed gesture of inter-institutional solidarity, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation handed CM Fadnavis a cheque of ₹59,14,000 for the Chief Minister's Relief Fund — earmarked for drought-affected communities in the region. Present at the ceremony were Minister Atul Save, Minister Sanjay Shirsat, MP Sandipan Bhumare, MLAs Suhas Shirsath, Narayan Kuche, and Anuradha Chavan, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Mayor Sameer Rajurkar. When the 34 buses roll out Monday morning and the first athlete turns a lap on the new track at dusk under 88 floodlights, Marathwada will look a little different — and the administration will be watching whether the next phase of 100 buses and 10 charging stations follows on schedule.