Can Chennnai afford to host IPL matches OR Do we need them at all ?? !!

Have you heard of Metal-halide ?  There is clear madness and no method – not the Organisers but the fans !.  On Sunday 25^th Mar 2012, the counter-sales drew large crowds.   People stood in long queues to  get their tickets on the first day itself. The denominations of the tickets ranged from Rs.700 to Rs. 7000.  Is it :-   amalgamation of cricket, entertainment, money spinning or a popular time-pass for the rich in the City ?  The IPL 5 Extravaganza is all set to begin in a few days from now. Starting April 4^th, 2012, there would be 72 matches till May 20^th; then 4 more matches to culminate the Finals of this version on 27^th May 2012. 

The much touted game loving knowledgeable Cricket fans (!!) of Chennai are taken for another round !  - a treat of entertainment lies waiting for the ardent fans !!  Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor is all set to enthrall audiences at the opening night of Dlf Ipl 2012 in Chennai on April 3.  There would more  including,Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhudeva, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Colonial Cousins and Katy Perry.  Yes, an  American Singer, songwriter and actress - Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson better known by her stage name Katy Perry is to perform for the IPL – to promote and attract fans for the game  - all set to rock at Chennai - YMCA College of Physical Education – the Board is really  innovating and struggling hard to find ways to promote and popularize and patronize cricket !!!

It is no pleasure  but plain pain to be inside the stadium – hot days, made hotter by the lights – no facilities, one has to pass through make shift barricades and rude volunteers, no decent rest rooms, water starved toilets – nothing is allowed inside including water bottles – one needs to buy everything at exorbitant prices and when you return back, you will find more madness – everywhere – inside the stadium, finding your way out, reaching the road and finding means of transportation. Inside the stadiums loudspeakers would blare songs of all languages and there would be cacophony. This is the position and those who come to watch spending hefty amount on tickets are indeed treated shabbily ; Team India has done rather poorly in the recent tours of England, Australia as also in the Asia Cup at Bangladesh – all these would combine to keep maddening crowds away from the stadium and this IPL 5 could be trimmed to be an ordinary affair – so one thought…..

the ticket sale at Chepauk : Photo courtesy www.firstpost.com

Amidst the melee, thousands of seats in the reconstructed galleries of M.A. Chidambaram Stadium are likely to remain vacant this IPL season.  Over 7,000 tickets for seats in the modernised galleries will be sold only after the Chennai Corporation revokes the lock-and-seal notice issued for the new structures last year.  Does it smack of arrogance that they can get away with anything or really poor planning ? – there lies galleries built without  building approvals from the civic body or planning permission from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).  The Corporation has banned usage and remember the Champions League was played to partly empty galleries and though months have passed by, things reportedly have not changed.   It is reported that the ban could be revoked only if Multi-Storey Building (MSB) panel of the CMDA  gives clearance.

MA Chidambaram stadium is no longer the mad concrete house – the new look stadia has reinforced concrete stands accommodating additional spectators with extra hospitality boxes. Horizontal gaps between the lower terrace and the upper stands have been  provided to allow a sea breeze into the stadium from the east to facilitate swing of the ball.  It has more of wire ropes and nothing of the broad round pillars that looked majestic but would distract or hide a portion from the spectator earlier. 

Tamil Nadu is reeling under severe power shortage and there are many drastic measures taken by the State Govt including many hours of power cut in day time; power holidays; reduced supply of power to industries and the whole State is feeling the shortage this summer.   There are going to be so many day night matches which are going to affect the citizens in multiple ways

-         hundred thousands of crazy chennaites would sit for long hours in front of the TV sets with airconditioners on and power consumption would jump manifold.

-         The stadium draws electricity from TNEB and tons of precious electricity would be wasted by the flood lights and other extravagant lighting and other fixtures

-         There would be chaos in traffic – already major parts of the artillery Anna Salai (Mount Road) have been made ‘one way’ – now hours prior to the match and hours after, buses would not allowed to ply through Bells Road causing inconvenience to all commuters. 

-         The diesel generators kept outside would run to their fullest capacity wasting litres of diesel and causing noise pollution

I am an ardent fan, a big lover for the game – still would it not be better to have only day games, at least in Chennai or shift all CSK games to somewhere else providing respite to the power parched citizens of Tamil Nadu.

Metal Halide is the  most common type of floodlight - which emits a bright white light;  high pressure Sodium floodlights would emit a soft orange light, similar to that of street lights.   Metal-halide lamps, a member of the high-intensity discharge (HID) family of lamps, produce high light output for their size, making them a compact, powerful, and efficient light source.  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

28^th March 2012.