Former IPS officer K. Durga Prasad, who is assisting the Supreme Court-appointed single judge Justice (Retired) L. Nageswara Rao in ending the impasse in Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), said that they were really working hard to ensure that the IPL matches in Hyderabad were a big success in a spectator-friendly ambience at Uppal stadium.
“The BCCI has agreed in principle to our proposals to have canopies on the eastern and western stands, though it will take time and may not be ready before the World Cup match here this October,” he said.
“The other proposals include elevators to the top tiers of the stands and more turnstiles to ease the heavy rush before the matches,” Mr. Prasad said.
“We have been doing random physical verification of tickets also before sending spectators to the turnstiles to ensure there are no fake tickets, as was reported for the third match, when someone misused the bar code of the accreditation card,” he said.
“The main problem has been plumbing. A lot of repairs need to be done for the pipelines (internal drainage system). There are some issues that require immediate attention. For instance, the grass-cutting machine was an issue yesterday and we had to order it from Chennai for the May 4 match to ensure the ground is fit for the match,” he said, adding, “Even the bulbs in the floodlit towers will be replaced soon.”
“I don’t blame the officials, who were at the helm before, honestly. Some repairs are inevitable because the systems have been in place for so many years. However, in some cases, maintenance could have been better,” he replied to a query.
