HYDERABAD: The drama at Hyderabad Cricket Association never seems to end. This time, T Shesh Narayan, who was in the running for the president’s post in the association, has accused incumbent president Narender Goud of irregularities in the system of selling tickets.
According to Shesh Narayan, the company that has been assigned to sell tickets for the ongoing India-Bangladesh Test — Events Now —has been charging an extra Rs 36 as ‘handling fee’ on every ticket. This was never the case with previous companies who were given this contract. And this is after Events Now was paid a sum of Rs 18 lakh as per their contract with HCA.
“I was in the technical committee from 2010-2012. There wasn’t even a single time that spectators were charged extra on the pretext of handling cost. This is just another scam. This has been reported to BCCI observer Ratnakar Shetty, who is here for the match,” Shesh Narayan said. There is no word yet from Shetty on this issue.
The two parties in question — HCA and Events Now — have hit back at Shesh Narayan. “We know that such a report has been filed. But it was pre-decided that such a fee would be charged. Moreover, we are not getting the additional money,” K John Manoj, HCA secretary, told Express.
A similar response came from Events Now. “It was only after a detailed discussion that the HCA had agreed to go ahead with the contract. The additional money charged will stay with us, but that will only be enough to pay the costs that we have incurred, like manpower, electricity, rent, etc,” an official from the company said.