Palike freeloads for Ind-Eng cricket tie
Arm-twisting
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council has managed to wangle 100 free tickets for its Corporators and officers, from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the India-England match in the Cricket World Cup, to be held in the City on February 27.
Arm-twisting the KSCA, the Palike Council has got 250 tickets for each of the four other matches to be played at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, as well as a separate box for the Corporators at the end of the VIP stand, with a capacity of 400 seats for them and the BBMP officers.
However, KSCA has not caved in totally. It has insisted on giving the Palike not more than 100 tickets for the first game in Bangalore. The Council has 198 Corporators which means that the Council will have to cough up cash and buy at least 98 tickets more for that game, and 150 tickets more for those who want to populate the Palike box at KSCA.
The ticket deal is the fallout of a compromise between the KSCA and the BBMP over the issue of complementary tickets over the past few months. Last month, the BBMP decided to assert its claim over the Chinnaswamy Stadium land and tax the ‘commercial’ activities of the KSCA. Within hours, however, the Council made a U-turn, giving the KSCA ‘one more chance’ to treat the public representatives with dignity.
Bear the cost
According to BBMP officers, the Palike will now have to bear the cost of the rest 150 tickets, if required, for the corporators or the officials who wish to witness any of the Cup games played in the City.
“The KSCA has agreed to provide us with 100 tickets apart from which we will have to buy our own tickets for rest of the corporators for the India-England game,” a Palike officer said. That should set back the BBMP to the tune of Rs one lakh at least, with each ticket costing Rs 1,000.
Apparently, KSCA would not agree to part with more than 100 tickets, as it expected a large number of cricket fans arriving from Kolkata, the original venue for the India-England game. “The KSCA is expecting 10,000 people to arrive from Kolkata,” said a KSCA officer.
