Cops turn space marketers @ Motera stadium in Gujarat

The 50,000-plus Amdavadis at Motera were treated to some swashbuckling batting by Yuvraj Singh on Friday, worth to the last dime of their black-marketed ticket. India defeating Pakistan by 11 runs simply added to their unbridled joy.

But the day didn’t begin with such revelry for them, as parking woes outside the stadium threatened to dampen their spirit. As if mismanagement in distribution of match tickets wasn’t enough, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) had to face another embarrassing situation as poor parking arrangement led to utter chaos at Motera Stadium.

Policemen stationed at the gates wielded baseball bats at them, when they were not busy making a quick buck out of allotting parking space to the spectators. A few of the cops were even asking people to park vehicles in nearby societies of their preference. They virtually had turned businessmen, working hand-in-glove with the locals.

Every street in the nearby slums turned into parking zones, with cops assisting the locals in attracting cricket lovers to park in their ‘zone’. Even the multiplex nearby was turned into a parking hub with over 1,000 two-wheelers occupying its complex. 

Call it traffic management of a different kind, but security personnel at a complex adjacent to the stadium was openly minting money out of allotting parking slots, and the shop owners were encouraging him.

When asked why he was charging so much, he retorted, “Why not?”
“If people are willing to pay Rs2,000 for a Rs200 ticket and everyone’s making profit, then why not me? They (spectators) have come here today, because they didn’t have a place to park their car. As such, this place will hold no importance from tomorrow,” said the security guard.

Mismanagement led to utter chaos and traffic jam outside the stadium. It took nearly 20 minutes for a person to cover 100 metres.