A policeman hits a protester with a stick near the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, March 28, 2011. — Photo by Reuters
MOHALI: Hundreds of eager fans stood in long queues at the Punjab Cricket Association ground on Monday in a final, desperate bid to find a ticket for the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final.
Sai Das, a resident of Mohali — the venue for Wednesday’s marquee clash between the bitter rivals — was on the verge of tears as he described his ticket travails.“I live in Mohali and to think that I have not been able to get a ticket kills me,” said the 22-year-old student as he walked away from the queue of hundreds snaking round the edge of the PCA Stadium.“I have been coming here for the last three days but the ticket counters open and close in minutes. They have no pity on us. The officials are only giving away tickets to VIPs.”
A group of school students described how they had defied angry parents and made it all the way from nearby Chandigarh just to be able to get the tickets.“My father scolded me but I didn’t listen,” said Rajan Kumar, 13.“I saw on a TV channel that some tickets will be put on sale today and I rushed here, giving school a miss.“Now we are told the report was wrong, no tickets are available. We have been waiting since eight in the morning for the counters to open and it is already close to one in the afternoon.“I was so excited about watching (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni hitting Pakistan’s bowlers for sixes. But I think I will have to make do with the TV.”
The PCA has maintained for days the match at the 30,000-capacity ground is sold out.
“We started the sale on March 21 and tickets were sold off the next day by noon,” PCA joint secretary G. S. Walia told AFP.“The whole idea was to sell the tickets before it was known whether India will play Pakistan here. That way the genuine cricket lovers got the tickets but those who wanted only to see India play Pakistan were left out.”
Walia expressed helplessness over the problem of black market tickets.“It is an individual problem. People came, stood in the queues and bought the tickets. We cannot keep track if they go back and sell these in (the) black (market).”
There are also concerns regarding forged tickets and Walia said: “We will ensure there are enough security checks to make sure the tickets are genuine.”One fan said a 500 rupee ($12) ticket was fetching up to 20 times its value.“I know it’s not fair,” said Vinay Gupta, 15.“But India is playing Pakistan on our soil after so long. I will put all the money that I have saved from my pocket money into this one.”
Among the crowds milling at the huge colonial-style gates of the stadium were also curious onlookers who had gathered just to “soak in the atmosphere”.“I came here to catch up on all the action,” said 30-year-old bank employee Ved Prakash.“I know there are no tickets to be bought. I just want to catch a glimpse of the bus which will carry the cricketers to the ground.”
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