The Hindu : Front Page : Snack vendors fleece IPL spectators

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 24, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Snack vendors fleece IPL spectators

V. V. Subrahmanyam

Steps afoot to check malpractice at Rajiv Gandhi stadium

HYDERABAD: Did you feel miserable paying high prices for eatables during the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Tuesday night? Relax -- things are likely to get better for the remaining six matches.

Ranga Reddy district Collector Praveen Prakash has taken a serious note of the steeply priced snacks inside the stadium and has initiated measures to make amends. He has sought a detailed list of the vendors permitted to sell eatables inside the stadium.

“We have asked the franchisee (Deccan Chargers) to furnish this information to check the malpractice,” he said on Wednesday.

Interestingly, the organisers and Joint Collector S. Solomon had promised a “spectator-friendly” ambience in the stands and that eatables would be sold at market price.

Detailed directive

But that did not happen as the fans felt the heat even under the lights. It was quite shocking considering that the Collectorate had issued a detailed directive long back, after the last one-day international match.

“We are determined to see that this trend is not repeated,” asserted Mr. Prakash.

In fact, his Revenue Development Officer heads a team of officials including the District Civil Supplies Officer, four inspectors and a 100-member support staff to check the menace.

The Collector said they were initially told that it was the BCCI which gave the rights to vendors.

“We have opened the helpline (No. 1-860-425-3333) to enable fans to complain against any such repetitions. We already booked three cases during surprise checks by the Legal Metrology Department during the match,” he pointed out.

“It was found that stalls owned by Pepsi company were selling certain food packages exceeding the maximum retail price (inclusive of all taxes),” he revealed.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page