The Rajasthan government says even with no matches held, it has been mainitaining and watering the stadium regularly.
After the Maharashtra government was ordered to move IPL matches out of the state by the court due to the prevailing drought, Rajasthan has stepped in and said it will host three IPL matches of the Mumbai Indians in May.
The opposition Congress has criticised the government for holding the matches during peak summer when many parts of the desert state are facing a water crisis. The party says the government’s move comes at a time when more than 13,000 villages are being supplied water through tankers and 11 districts are facing water scarcity. Ground water extraction in Jaipur, where the matches will be held, has gone up by 22 per cent in five years.
The state is in the grip of acute water scarcity, the opposition says.
The Sawai Mansingh stadium in the state capital is being readied to host the matches for the Mumbai Indians from May 5. After the Bombay High Court ordered last week that the matches be moved out of Maharashtra, Rajasthan offered to hold the matches.
The matches will be hosted by the state government-run sports council which is setting up a five-member committee with two experts, the council chairman, a BCCI member and one member of the Mumbai Indians team. The Rajasthan Cricket Assocation or RCA was earlier suspended by the BCCI for electing former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi as its president.
At a protest held to demand regular water supply, General Secretary of the Youth Congress in Jaipur, Sanjita Sihag, said, “If this is the erratic water supply in April, what will happen in May and June? The government is quick to host IPL matches but first they should find a solution to our water problems.”
The government says the Stadium has missed out on hosting matches for three years now due to the tussle between the BCCI and RCA. This IPL season will finally bring some games for cricket lovers. Besides, the pitch is maintained and the ground watered despite the water scarcity. “It’s is not because IPL is coming here that more water is going to be used. Maintenance has been going on,” Rajasthan Sports minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar said.