Despite stringent traffic and security plans in place, the afternoon of the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final saw chaos on all roads leading to Wankhede stadium
Despite stringent traffic and security plans in place, the afternoon of the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final saw chaos on all roads leading to Wankhede stadium
Traffic snarls and parking trouble marked the lead up to the World Cup final match between India and Sri Lanka despite the elaborate arrangements made by the Mumbai traffic police. All residential bylanes leading to Marine Drive were blocked to prevent congestion. Only the VVIP vehicles of President of India Pratibha Patil and President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, and police cars were permitted beyond the Princess Street flyover.
Former Indian cricketer R G 'Bapu' Nadkarni waited for 45 minutes with
his wife for a bus to take them to Wankhede from Girgaum Chowpatty.
Pic/ Rane Ashish
A dozen parking lots starting from the Nana-Nani Park at Girgaum Chowpatty were designated for spectators' cars. Seven BEST shuttle services and private buses organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association were made available to ferry spectators to the stadium from the park.
However, many spectators were made to wait for hours in the heat for the shuttle service. Former Indian cricketer R G 'Bapu' Nadkarni waited for 45 minutes with his wife for a bus that would take them to the stadium, after parking their car at the Nana-Nani Park at Chowpatty.
"The private bus was not ready to drop us to the VIP gate at the Wankhede Stadium. The driver said he would only start the bus when it was full, so we had to wait for nearly an hour," Nadkarni told Sunday MiD DAY.
"If I had known that the event was this badly managed, I would have watched the match at home," his wife said. Traffic came to a standstill on Marine Drive between 12.30 pm and 2.15 pm, leading many to wonder whether they would reach the stadium in time for the match.
Poovan Chetty arrived from South Africa last night to cheer the Indian team. "I have arrived here with my father only to see Tendulkar hit a ton against Sri Lanka," said the 32 year-old cricket fan. However, Chetty was upset that although they had arrived at Chowpatty well in advance, they had to wait for three hours for the bus to take them to the stadium.
The delay was also due to the strict security measures in place. Police officials checked every car that arrived, and allowed them to park only after the owners showed their match tickets.
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