HYDERABAD: At least 27 people, including several police personnel, received injuries in the stampede at the Gymkhana Grounds here on Thursday where thousands of cricket fans, who had converged to buy tickets for the India-Australia T20 match scheduled to be held at the Uppal Stadium on September 25, grew restless.
The patience of the crowds, waiting impatiently from the wee hours, was tested when only two ticket counters were opened and technical glitches prevented cashless payments. Those waiting for tickets said that they could not understand why the HCA stopped accepting digital payments in the midst of the ticket sale and insisted on cash payments only.
A senior police officer said, “A sudden spell of rain led to the stampede. To avoid getting drenched, the crowd moved in one direction and in the melee, people fell on each other. The situation was brought under control by the police and extra forces were deployed.”
The police and the State government blamed the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for the pathetic arrangements. “Only two counters were open.. we forced them to open another two. They didn’t make arrangements for drinking water either. Thousands of fans are here. The sudden rain forced them to surge into the premises which led to the stampede. Fortunately there were no deaths, but several people, including our police constables, were hurt. This is mismanagement by the HCA,” said Additional CP (Law & Order) DS Chauhan, who was on the spot trying to bring things under control. He indicated that action will be taken against those responsible.
“I have been standing in the queue since 4 am but I couldn’t get a ticket,” bemoaned a 21-year-old fan, who came all the way from Karimnagar. He had to return home empty-handed after waiting till 3.30 pm. Eight of the 27 people injured were administered first aid at a nearby hospital and discharged by the evening, while the remaining 19 did not require medical attention, police said.
Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud too called out the HCA for its mishandling. “This is utter negligence by the HCA. Shouldn’t they have made arrangements at least 10 days in advance or at least five-six days before? But, we didn’t have information on the sale of tickets till yesterday! When asked today, they are giving some lame excuses,” he said, warning that the government will not be a mute spectator if tickets were sold in black or Telangana’s brand image was tarnished.
The Minister reasoned that holding a cricket match is not a private affair of the HCA and requires coordination between several departments. He said that the State government had directed the HCA to submit details of the tickets sold and remaining ones, among others.
Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud held a review meeting with HCA president Md Azharuddin and officials concerned. Later, speaking to the media, Azharuddin sounded defiant. Stating that ticket sale details will be revealed to the media on Friday, he claimed that hosting an international cricket match was easier said than done.
“Some untoward incidents take place and when they do, none can do much. We will rectify our mistakes,” he said, urging everyone not to look at the “unfortunate” incident in a negative light. “The Association is important and Telangana is important. Minister Srinivas Goud has already taken stock and we will go forward as per his advice. We have given all the information we have to the State government and police department. We know what to do. I am 59 years old, not 10 years old,” Azharuddin said.
Azharuddin said that the crowd was much bigger than expected, possibly due to the fact that this was the first international cricket match being held in the city after Covid-19.He added that the HCA would take care of the medical expenses of those injured in the stampede.
“We have not done anything wrong. We are holding a match. It is not easy. There are going to be problems. The incident is very unfortunate. I am with the people who were injured and we are looking after them. But we have to ensure that the game goes forward,” Azharuddin said.The senior police officer said that the HCA failed to convey to us the number of people they expected to turn up to buy the tickets.
100 cops were deployed to control crowd
The senior police officer said that the HCA approached them for permission only on Wednesday evening, and nearly 100 personnel were deployed to monitor the crowds. “The HCA failed to convey the number of people they expected to turn up,” he said.
Developments off the pitch
Eight of the 27 injured administered first aid at a nearby hospital and discharged by the evening, the remaining did not require medical attention
The Police department and the State government blamed the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for the shoddy arrangements at the Gymkhana Grounds where the tickets were being sold.
The HCA has been directed to submit details of the tickets sold and the unsold ones, as well as details regarding the other arrangements put in place for the cricket match