Cricket back to Orange city Nagpur and will Haryana win at Lahli...

The Nishada Kingdom was the kingdom of the Nishada Tribe, a tribe of people who the Vedic people considered valour and courageous.

To those of us still following Cricket with no result in the past 10 days… in a lengthy 7 match series preceded by a T20 whence India started with a bang and in between chased with ease 360 losing just a solitary wicket…. The series is still 1-2 down with that Faulkner effort haunting…. ~ in between the little Master Sachin Tendulkar played Ranji at Lahli – making that place famous….  That match is intriguingly poised – not so a regular match [not even because of Sachin’s last Ranji… !!]  ~ capacity crowds – 1st innings of below 150 by each team and now Mumbai needing 39 more and Haryana needing those 4 wickets…………. Sachin stands in between unbeaten on 55… 

Back to International cricket, fans are expecting that there would be no further rains and it would only rain fours and sixers at Nagpur…. It is going to be at the new Jamtha stadium which could be another batsman’s paradise.  Rain has ensured that Aussies could not become no. 1 in ranking but India needs another victory to stay alive in the home series – India has lost more ODI series at home to Australia. 

Nagpur –  is called city of Oranges.  This major commercial and political centre of Vidarbha region is famous for oranges.  Nagpur lies precisely at the center of the country with the Zero Mile Marker indicating the geographical center of India  Citrus Sinensis is commonly grown tree fruit.   Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state.  Its former name is Berar (Varhad in Marathi).  Vidarbha holds two-thirds of Maharashtra's mineral resources, three quarters of its Forest Resources. In recent times, there have been calls for a separate state of Vidarbha, due to perceived neglect from the Government of Maharashtra and incompetent political leadership in Vidarbha.

The match is to be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium (also New VCA stadium),  a Test cricket ground built in 2008.  VCA Stadium is the home ground for the Vidharba and Central Zone teams for the domestic Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy tournaments, respectively. The stadium is located in the Jamtha neighborhood, about 15 km from Nagpur. Spread over 33 acres (130,000 m2), VCA Stadium features include, Ultra modern media box, gym for players, VIP and Corporate boxes, wi-fi coverage and a capacity of 45,000. The stadium has four stands. The East and West stands are open to air stands with two tiers.

There has been news of impediments – ToI reported that Vidarbha Cricket Association has been asked to obtain state government's permission before proceeding with online ticket sale of the India-Australia ODI at Jamtha stadium on October 30. The VCA was also in the dock for not complying with the requisite fire safety norms at the stadium as the authorities had not obtained a no objection certificate from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's fire and emergency services department. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) fire and emergency services department had, since October 7, refused to give NOC for the match, pending compliance with fire safety norms at the Jamtha stadium. The VCA has already organized 22 matches, including 11 international, three IPL and eight of Challenger Trophy, without a full-proof fire safety system at the international-level stadium. However, now it has been forced to ensure temporary fire preventive and safety mechanisms before it is allowed to host the October 30 match.

TOI further reported that VCA submitted an undertaking along with Rs 50 lakh bank guarantee and plan of temporary fire safety mechanisms being installed at the stadium. VCA promised to install permanent fire preventive and safety systems at the stadium within six months. The option of making temporary arrangements was given to VCA when it said that the permanent fire safety system could not be installed before the match.

Once the Online sale was approved, Cricket fans thronged the website as soon as online tickets sales started on www.bookmyshow.com. Some managed to book tickets but many faced a lot of inconvenience. Anyone trying to book a ticket was shown the message, "All seats are currently in transaction process, please try again after sometime", for hours together.

If you move away from Cricket to the other important C ‘Cotton”, the cotton growers in Vidarbha region have been under duress for too long.  Recent reports suggested that meagre compensation amounts of Rs 80 and Rs 100 are being given though the Chief Minister had announced a Rs.2,000 crore aid package for the flood-hit regions.  The Hindu reported of a farmer from Wardha district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, who suffered losses of around Rs.15, 000 during the last monsoon floods, being aghast to receive a compensation amount of Rs.80.

According to NGO Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) chief Kishore Tiwari, “Thousands of cheques bearing compensation amounts like Rs.80, Rs.100, and Rs.150 are lying in various tehsildar offices, but the farmers are refusing to collect them,” ~ it further states that “The most shocking part is that some officials came to survey his premises, they had tea and snacks in his home and even took Rs.100 promising to expedite his claims. VJAS demands that these officials be suspended and booked.” The meagre compensation amounts are being doled out though Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had announced a total aid package of Rs.2,000 crore for the severely flood-hit regions of eastern Maharashtra during the monsoon fury this year. Several districts of the Vidarbha region, especially Wardha, Amravati, Yavatmal, were severely affected by deluge during this year’s monsoon in July-August.

It is indeed sad to read of the plight of the farmers.  Ekalavya was a king of a Nishada tribe.  Nishadha was the kingdom of the celebrated king Nala Chakravarthi, who loved and married Damayanti the princess ofVidarbha Kingdom. Nala is known for his undeterred commitment to the path of righteousness even under duress.  This kingdom is identified with current day Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

29th Oct 2013.