With cricket & cuisine, Chandigarh hoteliers set to cash in on World Cup final

Tribune News Service

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, November 18

With India taking on Australia in the ICC World Cup final on Sunday, sports and food lovers are in for a treat. City restaurants and hotels are leaving no stone unturned to have them experience the sporting extravaganza on big screens in the company of their friends and families while relishing their meals.

While the Chandigarh Administration has put restrictions on public screening of the final match (without permission), city hotels and restaurants are all prepped up to screen the World Cup final live. “We will be giving free Indian team T-shirts to all our customers as we did during the telecast of India-Pakistan match. A sports quiz will be organised during the live streaming. We have special food and drinks menu for tomorrow’s match. Besides, we have decked up our entire lounge with World Cup collaterals,” said Ankit Gupta, director of a Sector-35 hotel, and president, Chandigarh Hospitality Association.

“We are installing a big screen for our guests to telecast the match live. We will let our guests enjoy the World Cup clash without any hindrance,” said Manmohan Singh, CEO of a Sector-22 hotel, and Chairman, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Chandigarh.

Besides special drinks and food menu, restaurants owners have also arranged for a live commentary. “We have hired commentators for a live commentary. Trained anchors will engage the guests in various activities to provide a stadium-like lively atmosphere to our guests,” said Anoop Kappor, the owner of a restaurant in Mohali.

The UT Administration, meanwhile, has issued an advisory. It reads, “Public screening of the match is allowed only with prior permission from the DC Office. No processions in any form will be allowed before, during, or after the match. Loud music can be played at any public place only as per regulations under the Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000, framed under the Environment Protection Act. However, public screening of cricket match can continue beyond 10 pm at normal sound levels only. The office of the District Magistrate will be open on November 19 for obtaining permissions regarding the screening of the match.”

Traders have objected to the restrictions imposed on public screening of the match. In a letter to the UT Administrator, Kailash Jain, president, Udyog Vyapar Mandal, Chandigarh, said, “The restriction should be withdrawn. Market associations are ready to install big screens. Fans should be given a chance to enjoy the match together in public.”

The Administration, meanwhile, approved installing a big screen at Sector 16 cricket stadium, purportedly at the instance of Sanjay Tandon, UTCA president.

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