Temporary jail has sports authorities worried about pitches, stadium

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 22

The Chandigarh administration’s order to convert the Sector 16 cricket stadium into a temporary jail on Friday — the day a Panchkula court is set to announce the verdict in the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh — has sent the UT sports department into a tizzy.

The officials are concerned about the pitches and the field. “We cannot ignore the order. Ideally, there should be no problem, even if the police arrest a big number of the people. But we have to take care of the pitch. We have to be extra cautious,” said Dr Mahender Singh, joint director sports.

However, a groundsman, seeking anonymity, said that it would be difficult to protect the pitch if the number of arrests was high or in case of rain on that day. “It will be difficult for us to manage the crowd. The police have to keep the arrested away from the pitch. We will not be fighting with the crowd, which will already be upset,” said the groundsman. 

Notably, in the recent past, the sports department had stopped leasing out the stadium for matches and restricted the player’s movement in order to restore the pitch and the outfield.

“If something happens on August 25, our hard work will be washed away,” a sports council member said. “The administration should shift the venue to the Sector 42 complex, which is huge and able to handle such events.” 

Notably, as per MET department’s predications, there will be thunderstorm and rain on Friday, which could add to the authorities’ woes.