Bhubaneswar, Jun 19 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a cash reward of Rs 1 crore for the Indian men's football team for winning the Hero Intercontinental Cup here.

India rode on skipper Sunil Chhetri's 87th international goal and Lallianzuala Chhangte's strike to beat Lebanon 2-0 in the final and lift the Intercontinental Cup at the Kaling Stadium on Sunday night.

"It is a matter of great pride for our state to host this prestigious Intercontinental Cup. Congratulations to India on their victory in the face of stiff competition. It is our intention to hold many more football events in Odisha and support the growth of the sport in Odisha and India," Patnaik said during the closing ceremony.

All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey thanked the Odisha government for successfully hosting the tournament.

"We couldn't have had a better venue and ending to the Hero Intercontinental Cup. I thank Odisha government for extending all support and hospitality to the participating teams and for hosting a spectacular tournament," he said. PTI

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Udupi (Karnataka) Apr 29: The coastal district of Udupi is going through a severe shortage of Compressed Natural Gas for Automotive applications.

Although the number of CNG fuel-based vehicles is increasing, the number of CNG filling stations in Udupi district has not risen. In the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers have to wait for hours to get their fuel tanks filled.

“I've been waiting for not less than four-five hours everyday for the past one week. Most of the time my vehicle is idle and I am not able to take up fares, as a result of which I have lost so much of income and my bank obligations will take a beating if this continues any longer," Sundar Shetty, a rickshaw driver in Udupi said.

CNG fuel is not being supplied to existing bunks as per demand. And as the demand is high, the stock depletes quickly and sometimes the rickshaws are parked overnight in a queue for early morning refuelling, leaders of the CNG Autorickshaw Drivers Association said.

In Udupi town, there is only one bunk that has CNG facility, but most of the time it is empty.

“Due to high investment on land, equipment and daily stocks, there are not many takers for this business” the bunk owners said.

There is only one CNG station in Kundapura taluk out of three in Udupi district. There are more than 5,000 CNG based vehicles in the district.

The sight of hundreds of rickshaws and other vehicles waiting to fill CNG fuel at the CNG bank in Koteshwar every day from 4 am is very common.

Sometimes one has to wait till 8-9 o'clock. However, there is no guarantee that everyone will get fuel. Similar are the conditions in Karkala and Kundapur taluks of Udupi district.

The rickshaw drivers and other CNG users have appealed to the Udupi district authorities and approached the Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to put pressure on the government to normalise supply and to open more bunks.