The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has taken note of reports of vacant seats for the supposedly sold out opening matches of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor, and the shortage of drinking water inside the stadium and the exorbitant fares for the same.
In an order issued here on Monday, Acting Chairman P. Mohandas sought reports on the issues from the District Collector, nodal officer for the FIFA event, and the City Police Commissioner within ten days.
The commission observed that restricting entry to 30,000 spectators despite the stadium having double the capacity was illegal.
Mr. Mohandas sought to know why thousands of football fans were denied the opportunity to watch the matches. He observed that thousands of seats in the stadium remained vacant and regarded it as “illegal and encroachment on the rights to watch the game”.
The commission also directed the authorities concerned to ensure the free availability of drinking water inside the stadium. Packaged drinking water was charged up to ₹90 while soft drinks were sold at ₹300. The organisers had the responsibility to ensure that items were sold at the maximum retail price.
Mr. Mohandas also said there were reports of authorities hindering the functioning of food safety officials inside the stadium.
The order directed the Food Safety Commissioner to deploy enough officials inside the stadium to ensure that food items were sold at reasonable prices.
