KOCHI: Kerala Blasters players arrived at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday in a new vehicle following the motor vehicle department’s (MVD) action against their official bus citing violations. The new team bus does not have any pictures on its body.
“We submitted a letter to the MVD seeking permission to use the old vehicle. However, they turned down the application. So we decided to bring another contract carriage,” said a Kerala Blasters official.
Last week, the MVD had issued a show-cause notice to the owner of the official team bus. Its fitness was cancelled after it failed to comply with the road safety norms. The MVD officials, who carried out a detailed inspection, found five major violations --- damaged tyres and rearview mirrors, no medicine in the first aid box, vinyl wrapping of the body and giant pictures of players on the glasses.
Meanwhile, the move created a mixed feeling among the fans, who always wanted to see their players reach the stadium in such a vehicle. Some of them said the rules of the land are applicable to all. “In other countries, the players are used to being transported in official vehicles. What is the logic behind taking such an action? Accidents are happening due to bad roads and not because of such modifications,” said a Blasters fan.