Land for the Wankhede stadium was allotted to Mumbai Cricket Association in 1974
Highlights
- 14,000 tickets are distributed to sponsors, players, officials
- Land for the Wankhede stadium was allotted in 1974
- India plays WT20 semifinal with West Indies at Wankhede today
When
India play West Indies in Mumbai today for a place in the World Twenty 20 finals, 250 bureaucrats from Maharashtra will be in the stands of the famous Wankhede stadium. For 'free'.
Only officials argue that the tickets are not quite free. They get them courtesy a four-decade-old agreement between the state government and the Mumbai Cricket Association or MCA.
The government says that in 1974, land for the stadium was allotted to the cricket body and instead of cash, it promised to pay back in free tickets for every international match played at the Wankhede. No one could say for how long the arrangement, already 42 years old, lasts.
"The place where Wankhede is today belongs to the state government. The government had then given the land to the Mumbai Cricket Association. There is an agreement between them where a certain quota of tickets need to be given to the Maharashtra government. That is why 250 tickets have been given...There is a Government Resolution for the distribution also mentioned in the agreement," said Ashish Shelar, a BJP lawmaker, who is also the vice president of the MCA.
While Maharashtra's top bureaucrat, chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya has arranged for the free tickets for officials, Mr Shelar said he has "also arranged for 200 tickets for assembly members." That is in his "personal capacity".
Fans disappointed at not getting tickets for the sold-out match are very angry. "I have been coming here for 3 days, but there are no tickets," said Biren, one of the fans near the stadium.
Another fan, Ajay Joshi said, "Bureaucrats can afford to pay for tickets, they shouldn't get free tickets'
The government argues that it is just 250 seats at the massive Wankhede, which accommodates 33,000. But on Thursday, as fans jostle to get a place in the stadium to watch India take on the West Indies in the semifinal, 33,000 is too few.
And of these 14,000 are distributed to sponsors, players, officials and advertisers, leaving only 19,000 tickets on sale.
Tickets for today's game cost between Rs 1,500 and 10,000. Tickets for both today's semifinal and the finals to be played in Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Sunday have sold out.