The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : It was a dull day for everyone

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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

It was a dull day for everyone

Staff Reporter

Unsold tickets, poor business marked the second day of the first Test

There were no takers for Rs. 250, Rs. 400 and Rs. 1,000 tickets
Around 1,500 police personnel deployed to provide security

BANGALORE: There were not many takers for the first Test match between India and Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Those who had bought tickets hoping to sell them in black were crestfallen. There was no demand. Eventually, they had to sell the tickets for much lower than their face value. Only around 40 per cent of the Chinnaswamy Stadium was occupied.

“I bought 30 tickets of Rs. 250 each. I was not able to sell even one ticket. Hundreds of tickets remain unsold at the counters. So, I am selling them for Rs. 200,” said Azmat Ulla Khan, a shop-keeper from Russell Market.

“The Rs. 50 tickets were sold out. But there were no takers for the Rs. 250, Rs. 400 and Rs. 1,000 tickets. We hope to get a large number of spectators on Saturday”, said a KSCA executive.

It was a gala time for fans of cricketer Sourav Ganguly. A large number of them had arrived from Kolkata. They wanted their “Dada” to answer his critics through his performance in the series.

“Sadly, Ganguly announced that he would retire after the series. We want Ganguly to prove his class. The selectors should include him for the last two Test matches also and honour the great player,” said Shibu Chakraborty, an hotelier from Kolkata.

A mini-market was set up by vendors around the stadium. They were busy selling national flags, caps, T-shirts, binoculars, fruits, eatables and cool drinks. According to them, Friday is not a good day for business.

“Perhaps due to the tight security, cricket fans did not feel comfortable coming to watch the match. When the matches were held earlier, I used to sell a minimum 500 caps and 250 T-shirts every day. But today, I could not sell even 50 caps”, said Firoz Ahmed, a resident of Tannery Road.

Velu Murugan of Fraser Town was busy painting the tricolour on the cheeks of spectators. “I am charging Rs. 10 per customer. I didn’t get many customers today. But I am charging Rs. 60 from Australian fans,” he said.

The 300-strong Australian crowd encouraged their team all through the day. “We will definitely win the series”, said Alec Stewart, a student of Bachelor of Environment at the University of Melbourne. Alec, a die-hard fan of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, has come all the way from Melbourne to root for his team.

The Bangalore city police deployed around 1,500 personnel to provide security for the match. They complained that they were provided poor quality food by the Police Department. “One banana and rice bath were provided to us. The food was not cooked properly. But we cannot complain to our higher-ups,” said a policeman.

“The cost of bakery items and tea at the stadium was double the normal cost. With no alternative, we had lunch on the footpath on Infantry Road,” said a woman constable. “I will look into the matter. I will instruct the authorities concerned to serve good food to the policemen,” G. Ramesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division), said.

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