Inside the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium (RGI), standing on the green top where a few days from now the IPL matches will be played under floodlights, is an experience. Lush green and soft underfoot, it is a contrast to the dry and dusty path to the stadium and the surrounding areas. According to information from various sources, it takes 2 lakh litres of water every month to keep it so.
And any guesses how much water is pumped in by the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) to maintain the greenness of the field for IPL matches? It takes about one lakh litres for three days of maintenance, according to a former HCA official. With seven matches scheduled, the amount of water utilised would be huge. This, at a time when some of the city’s water sources have gone dry, and when many areas of the city are reportedly not receiving enough water.
“In fact, it is peak summer, and the grass on the field dries up faster, so more water is required to keep it wet. The stadium has two big underground tanks, with their full capacity totalling about two lakh litres. And preparation for the IPL begins a few weeks before the matches begin. So a lot of water is being utilised,” explained the former official.
Lush green, and evidently in good match conditions, it looks like anything but summer inside, indicating that it is well taken care of. So where exactly is the HCA managing to get such a huge amount of water from for the IPL series? “We have a municipal connection, and have borewells as well to maintain the pitch. We don’t take any tankers from the Water Board,” said HCA president Arshad Ayub, at a press conference here on Thursday.
When asked whether the water being drawn from the municipal connection is being utilised to keep the grass green, Mr. Ayub denied it, and added that only non-potable water is used to water the fields. He also feigned ignorance as to how much water is supplied by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) to the stadium.
When contacted, HMWSSB area in-charge Vinod Bhargava said that the stadium is supplied about 200 kilo litres of water every month by the Water Board, and one kilo litre equals to 1,000 litres of water. To put things in perspective, if this were to be supplied through tankers, it will take about 40 water tankers of 5,000 litres each. And while Mr. Ayub denied that the HCA takes tankers from the HMWSSB, Mr. Bhargava said that the Water Board has supplied water when matches have been held in the past through tankers, when additional water was required. “They ask for commercial tankers, and so far none have been ordered,” he added.
On match days, many of the club houses where food is supplied, the HCA creates temporary water storage facilities for washing and other purposes.
