BHUBANESWAR: With Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik aiming to make Odisha the sports hub of the country, giving spectators an interruption-free and seamless time is key. The one-day international match between India and West Indies at Barabati Stadium on Sunday, which was attended by over 40,000 people, showed how it can be done.
Going beyond the conventional task of crowd control and maintaining order, police even went into nitty-gritty to ensure spectators’ comfort but before that Commissionerate Police analysed spectator experience, issues of conflict and coordination with Odisha Cricket Association (OCA).
Police made a deep dive to understand why there have been many instances of crowd disturbances and even referred to literature on violence during soccer matches in England.“We focused on identifying possible conflict points which lead to spectator discomfort. One of our prime objectives was to enhance spectator convenience and satisfaction,” Police Commissioner Sudhansu Sarangi said.
Sources said as the original arrangements for sale of food inside the spectator area did not work out, police had to step in to fix the problem by allowing vendors from outside who could sell close to 15,000 food packets to spectators.
Police set up aid posts at each gallery in the venue and put an inspector rank officer in-charge equipped with a megaphone. Police officers were also equipped with manpack sets and earpiece to have uninterrupted communication among them. The officers could be seen making regular announcements and urging the spectators to visit the police aid post in case they were facing any inconvenience.
In one instance, one of the spectators approached a police aid post at Special Enclosure B and informed its in-charge Bijayini Singh about the alleged theft of his mobile phone. Police not only addressed the report of the man but also immediately alerted other spectators in the enclosure to keep their mobile phones and other valuables safely.
Police could also be seen guiding the spectators to their respective seats, showing the way to the toilets and the food zones in the venue. Commissionerate Police also refrained from making obtrusive security arrangements by giving its personnel black T-shirts in a white-ball match at the stadium. No one in uniform entered inside the boundary line.
This apart, Commissionerate Police also kept posting traffic updates at regular intervals on its Twitter handle. The measures came in for praise from BCCI and security manager of Indian cricket team.
Orphans’ wish come alive at Barabati
Cuttack: As many as 20 orphan boys of Swami Bichitrananda Kalyan Ashram (SBKA) were able to watch the third ODI cricket match at Barabati Stadium here on Sunday due to the efforts of president of the orphanage Prasanna Kumar Nanda. An advocate, Nanda arranged tickets from educational institutions affiliated under Odisha Cricket Academy (OCA) for the orphans. “It gave me a great pleasure to see the match from Gallery No 6,” said Nanda. “I used to see cricket match on TV. It was my dream to see the match live. Thank God, my wish was fulfilled due to the efforts of Nanda,” said an overwhelmed Muna Hembrum, a Class IX student.