Ahmedabad (PTI): Hotel room tariff in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and airfares to the city have skyrocketed in view of the soaring demand from people who want to witness the cricket World Cup final match between India and Australia to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on the coming Sunday.

As the fever for the world cup final is reaching its peak, hotel room tariffs for the night of the match have gone up as high as Rs 2 lakh in top five-star hotels in the city, while other hotels have also increased their rates by five to seven times.

"There is enthusiasm for the world cup final not only in India, but people from abroad including places like Dubai, Australia and South Africa want to come to watch the match," President of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Gujarat Narendra Somani said.

"There are 5,000 rooms in three stars and five star hotels in Ahmedabad, while the number for entire Gujarat is 10,000. The capacity of the Narendra Modi Stadium is over 1.20 lakh people and we expect that 30,000 to 40,000 people will come from outside to watch the match," he said.

As the demand for hotel rooms is high, their rates are also increasing, he said, adding that the rooms which were available at nominal rates earlier have touched anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.25 lakh.

"People tend to book the flight tickets first before booking hotels. The room prices are going to increase not only in Ahmedabad but in the surrounding towns also as the match day comes near," he said.

Online rates on various hotel booking sites of five-star hotels have reached around Rs 2 lakh per night. The tariff mentioned by hotels like ITC Narmada and Hyatt Regency online is more than Rs 2 lakh on the night of the match.

Even non-star hotels have increased their rates five to seven times to cash in on the rush.

Hotel Crown on C G Road, which generally charges Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per night, has increased its rate to over Rs 20,000, its staff confirmed.

Meanwhile, airfares from different destinations to Ahmedabad have drastically gone up as compared to the normal rates.

For flights coming from Chennai, the rates in normal times are around Rs 5,000, but they are now Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000.

"Due to high demand for Ahmedabad, airfares for flights to the city from almost all places have risen three to five times," said Manubhai Pancholi, a travel agent.

"Cricket fans are ready to pay the high prices to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and witness India play the finals in their home country. The demand for hotels and tickets is on the rise," he said.

 

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Mumbai: Mumbai was thrown into panic late on Thursday night when police received a WhatsApp message warning of a large-scale terror attack during the Ganesh festival. The message, written in the name of a jihadi group called “Lashkar-e-Jihadi,” claimed that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered Mumbai with 400 kilograms of RDX loaded in 34 vehicles.

It warned of blasts that could kill as many as one crore people. Authorities immediately declared a high alert, and the case was handed over to the Crime Branch while the Anti-Terrorism Squad and other security agencies were put on standby.

Within hours, the threat made national headlines. Television channels and online portals reported the possibility of a terror strike, repeatedly linking the message to Pakistan-based groups.

The incident was projected as yet another attempt to destabilize Mumbai, and the supposed involvement of a jihadi outfit quickly gained traction across the media. However, a swift investigation by Mumbai Police traced the origin of the message to a very different source.

By Saturday, police had tracked down and arrested Ashwin Kumar Supra, a 50-year-old astrologer and Vastu consultant living in Sector 79 of Noida. Originally from Patna, Kumar admitted during interrogation that he had sent the message using the name of his former friend Firoz. In 2023, Firoz had lodged a fraud case against him at Phulwari Sharif police station in Patna, leading to Kumar’s three-month imprisonment. Seeking revenge, Kumar attempted to frame Firoz by posing as a jihadi terrorist. Police recovered his mobile phone, SIM cards, and other digital devices used in the hoax.

When the threat first came to light, social media was flooded with heated reactions. Journalist @Manju_IBNews wrote, “Another election around the corner!” while user @kv_mcu posted an aggressive comment demanding to “ban Islam and burn the Quran,” calling for mass deportations and tying the incident to culture and religion. In response, @RIMMS51979 countered sharply, saying, “Caller Name is Ashvini kumar what will you burn now.” Another user, @Valkyrie00777, questioned the credibility of the threat, pointing to contradictions in the claim that 14 terrorists had entered India with 34 bombs and 400 kilograms of RDX. Meanwhile, @Liberal51601607 remarked, “Terrorists have no religion.. Anyone..?”

Fact-checkers also weighed in. @zoo_bear (Mohammed Zubair) accused NDTV of omitting crucial context, posting: “Adani's TV hasn't mentioned that the accused Ashwini Kumar sent the bomb threat message to Mumbai police in the name of his friend Firoz to frame him.” The fact-check website Aazad Fact Check (@AazadFactCheck) published a detailed rebuttal, saying the story had quickly evolved into a propaganda tool. It noted that the supposed intelligence about “human bombs in vehicles” was technically flawed and described the entire sequence as “a pure example of Indian narrative building before a false flag operation.”

After Ashwini Kumar’s arrest, the tone of the online conversation shifted sharply. Activist @ShabnamHashmi posted, “Ashwini Kumar 50 Year Old Astrologer from Noida has been arrested for sending these threats in the name of a Muslim. This is how Sangh sleeper cells are spreading hatred. Stop the Hate factory! Vote Out the Vote Chori Gang.” Journalist @indscribe (Shams Ur Rehman Alavi) observed that newspapers splashed the initial threat on front pages but buried the arrest details inside. “When the guy gets caught, the same newspapers don't publish his photo, relegate it to page 14 or reduce it to a single column… Interest gone after ‘name’ found,” he wrote.

Other users highlighted systemic and political angles. @shfique13 argued that there are now “two laws” in the country—one protecting those aligned with the government and another used to suppress truth-tellers. @SoodRajive claimed the episode was staged, alleging Kumar had been paid to frame a minority and calling it “a staged toolkit drama.” User @hussain2577 wrote sarcastically, “Such an innocent n bright person. Plzz grant him bail, Garland him, Give him BJP membership form.” Another account, @Sangliyana, remarked, “Risking his life just to frame a Muslim boy. This is what 11 years corrupting mind.” Finally, @rsbisht__ argued that Kumar’s only aim was to trap Firoz, linking it to what he described as rising hatred against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh under the Modi and Yogi administrations.