Cops start security drill at Eden

Kolkata police began its customary inspections of the Eden Gardens six days before the start of the second Test versus South Africa in the stadium, signalling that all is now well between the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the cops.

Anjan Ganguly, an assistant commissioner of police, led a small team to the ground at 4pm and inspected the stands, including blocks B, C, K and L that are under construction. CAB joint secretary Bishwarup Dey showed the cops around. Over the next 30 minutes,Ganguly paused at several places and explained the changes he wanted before Day One of the Test.

“Please make sure that the construction sites are properly blocked well before the match. We would like to check if it’s okay,” Ganguly said, pointing to the large pits that had been dug to build the foundation of the pillars which would support the new two-tier stands.

He also asked if it was feasible to put a coat of paint on the sun-beaten bucket seats in the lower tier of the J Block. “The paint has come off and you can’t read the seat numbers. So there will be confusion. If you can’t paint the whole chairs, at least make the seat numbers visible,” he said.

Ganguly asked Dey where the police enclosure would be erected and where the scoreboards — other than the electronic one — would be placed. “This is our first inspection. I pointed out a thing or two. Next day, the police commissioner will inspect the ground. We will inspect the Eden Gardens almost daily before the match,” Ganguly said after the visit.

After lights went out during India’s ODI match with Sri Lanka on December 24, police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti had said that the cops would not allow the CAB to host day-and-night matches during IPL 3 unless the glitch was sorted out.

After a war of words, Kolkata police had written to the CAB requesting it to employ private security inside the stadium for the South Africa Test. The CAB wrote back appealing to the police to take full charge for the sake of cricket and its followers in Kolkata.

Asked if the police inspection on Monday signalled the end of the “cold war”, Dey said: “Let’s not look behind. Let’s just wish we have an enthralling Test match.”



The Telegraph Metro