Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service
Mohali, September 20
After three years of wait, the IS Bindra PCA Stadium witnessed back the audiences’ roar but along with controversies.
As India took on Australia Tuesday evening, fans alleged that police personnel helped their close ones to gate crash and fill the stands full to capacity. Many fans, despite having tickets, kept waiting outside and were even lathi-charged by police as they demanded entry into the stadium.
Even after the first innings of the match, fans were seen queuing up outside. “The police personnel are claiming that the stands are full and they have closed the entry gates. How can the stands get full to the capacity, when half of us, having tickets, are still standing outside,” claimed Gaurav, a young fan.
Before entering the stadium, the audiences faced parking blues and rude police personnel, deployed at the entry gates. Some fans were lathi-charged by the police personnel. “The police personnel deployed were of no help instead they were very rude. At one of the entry points (gate ¾), personnel helped some fans to gate crash easily, while spectators kept queued up for over three hours before getting inside the stadium. They even lathi-charged fans who objected to such practice,” said Parbhat. Another fan added, “This is a regular feature at PCA stadium. And if fans object, the police personnel threaten with dire consequences. The authorities should handle such situations. Overcrowded places are delicate to handle,” said Sahil.
While narrating an incident, Anjali explained a face-off with a Punjab Police official. “The officials should train the recruits to talk nicely. We have even paid for our tickets and deserve some respect. The personnel treated us like we were entering here for free.”
Also, outside the main gate of the stadium, drivers of many government vehicles were seen arguing with the police personnel over parking.
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