BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK : Chaotic scenes marked the ticket sale for the India-South Africa T20 match at Barabati stadium in Cuttack as police failed miserably in crowd management as well as preventing the touts, who deployed proxies in large numbers to get them tickets for black marketing.
A stampede like situation prevailed at the ticket counters at the stadium with thousands of people jostling with each other to get ahead in the queue and get their tickets. There was a scuffle as people tried to push forward following which police resorted to mild lathicharge to bring the situation under control.
With Cuttack hosting an international cricket match after two and half years, the excitement among fans was huge. A total of nine ticket counters were opened including two for women. When the counters opened, the area was already packed with more than 15,000 people. Every counter had long queues and the hot and humid conditions made things tougher for the cricket lovers.
Taking advantage of the situation, touts could be seen strolling outside the barricades of the parking areas and offering tickets at exorbitant prices to people who did not want to join the queue. “A person offered me one gallery number- 7 ticket for `3,000 when its actual cost is `600. He also offered me gallery number 2 and 4 tickets for `3,500 each when their actual cost is `700,” said a Cuttack resident, a chartered accountant by profession.
A senior police officer said there could also be a link between the stampede-like situation in the women ticket counters as the touts engaged women, “possibly on wages” to get tickets for them.
One person was permitted to buy a maximum of two tickets both on online and offline mode. Going by the appearances of a significant chunk of women in the queue, they won’t ever watch a cricket match by buying tickets. The touts engaged women daily wagers to get tickets for them so that they could black-market them.
“The touts are not standing near the stadium anymore. They might be carrying out their illegal business at a distance. We are keeping a vigil and necessary action will be taken against any suspect who is found in possession of more tickets than permissible,” said a senior police officer. The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) had made arrangements to sell 12,093 tickets to general public on Thursday and Friday. However, all the tickets were sold on the first day itself.