BCCI: Wont’ be easy to shift matches,response HC for shifting matches
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BCCI,the Indian cricket board has said that, “it won’t be easy to move out games from Maharashtra midway through the tournament”
BCCI said in response to the Bombay High Court order of shifting 13 matches from the drought hit state”
On Wednesday, HC asked BCCI to shift the rest of IPL matches after April 30 from Maharashtra due to the water crisis in the state.
Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur are the three venues in Maharashtra scheduled to hold the IPL matches.
Rajiv Shukla(IPL Chairman) said, “Organising the IPL is a gigantic work. It’s not easy. All preparations had been done, completed. Now shifting the matches will be a problem,”
IPL Chairman added, “So far, we have not got the written order, after we get that, we will study the order and work out an alternative plan. We always respect the court. We need to talk to other franchises. Out of 19 matches in Maharashtra, 13 have to be moved out, we will have to work it out,” he added.
Anurag Thakur(BCCI Secretary) said, “there was an attempt to create negativity around the league”
Thakur asked,“We are not using drinking water, we have said that we’ll use treated sewage water only. How many swimming pools of 5 star hotels have been shut? Have people stopped watering their lawns?”
He added,“There is an attempt to create negativity on every issue these days. IPL was to use 0.00038 per cent of water so that shows the requirement was not much,”
Shukla said, “The key problem is water for farmers, which we are trying to find a solution to. We were willing to give water, contribute to the CM’s fund. Now shifting matches will be a problem,”
He aforesaid, “If matches are to be shifted, where will they be moved, how will they be moved, all these issues are involved. And this comes after nobody raised an issue about the 24 World Twenty20 matches that were held recently,”
He added,“Nobody raised these issues for six months. Whatever was required, we were willing to do. In fact, I would like to point out that a lot many other sports and cultural events are going on in Maharashtra, which also use water and they should also help,”
Shukla said, “even the sugar factories and golf courses should be pulled up for their water usage”
He said,“Not only sugar factories, construction should also be stopped. All golf courses, they require huge amount of water, nothing is being done against these golf courses,”
Ness Wadia, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab said,”I’m glad that sensitivities of the drought-affected people in Maharashtra are being respected”.
