Permission denied for cricket match at Chinnaswamy Stadium over safety compliance: K'taka HM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Paraemeshwara on Wednesday said that permission has been denied to host matches at the city's Chinnaswamy stadium as the KSCA, which manages it, has failed to comply with the safety and security requirements.
He advised the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to comply with the recommendations of the Justice John Michael Cunha's Commission, and said that following which the request may be considered. He asserted that the government will not take any "hasty decision" on the matter.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh on Tuesday had said that permission has been denied to hold the Vijay Hazare trophy match at the city's Chinnaswamy Stadium on December 24. The KSCA had sought permission to hold the match without allowing spectators for now.
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Matches were stopped at the Chinnaswamy stadium after a stampede had occurred outside it during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL victory celebration on June 4, in which 11 people died. The Justice Cunha commission was constituted to probe the incident.
"After Venkatesh Prasad (former cricketer) led team was elected to administer the KSCA, they met the Chief Minister and deputy CM, seeking permission to host cricket matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The cabinet after discussion authorised me as the Home Minister to take a decision," Parameshwara told reporters here.
Noting that the government had constituted the Justice Cunha commission after the stampede to probe and submit a report, he said, it has made some observations along with recommendations, and it was communicated to KSCA to comply with.
"But, it appears so far they (KSCA) have not complied with anything."
Recently when the KSCA administration met seeking permission for matches at the stadium, a meeting was held with senior officials in their presence, the minister said, adding, "I had constituted a committee headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) commissioner Maheshwar Rao and consisting of police commissioner and other department officials to visit the stadium and provide feedback."
They visited the stadium on Monday.
Stating that the Committee during the visit to the stadium found that none of the recommendations were compiled to by the KSCA, the Home minister said, based on this it was decided that permission cannot be accorded to hold matches at the stadium, and the same has been communicated to the association.
"My advice to them (KSCA) is that the observations and the recommendations made by Justice Cunha commission should be complied with. We can consider their request, if they at least implement the short term recommendations and regulate things at the stadium. Everything will have to happen within the framework of law, or else where is the value for the Justice Cunha commission recommendations, which has been accepted by the cabinet," he said.
The Justice Cunha Commission had reportedly concluded in its report that the "design and structure" of the stadium were "unsuitable and unsafe" for mass gatherings.
Its reported recommendations include adequate gates for mass entry and exit, purpose-built queuing and circulation zones separated from public roads, emergency evacuation plans compliant with international safety norms, and sufficient parking.
Making it clear that no hasty decisions can be taken in this matter, Parameshwara said, KSCA has been advised to comply with the recommendations, following which the requests may be considered.
"Seventeen recommendations have been sent to them (KSCA) and the Police Commissioner has told them the important ones; they have to comply with them," he said.
KSCA spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya on Tuesday had said that the Vijay Hazare trophy matches have been shifted to the BCCI Centre of Excellence, on the outskirts of the city, near the Kempegowda International Airport.
In a statement he said that with this proactive approach and full compliance with the recommended measures, KSCA is confident that the necessary permissions for conducting Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will be granted in the near future.
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BJP will hold protest till money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme is disbursed: Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Wednesday said that the party would launch a protest against the non-disbursal of money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme for the months of February and March this year.
He also said that the party would request Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot not to give his assent to the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, which was cleared by both the houses – Legislative Assembly and Council, during the recently concluded winter session in Belagavi.
Speaking to reporters here, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said there were high expectations that the government would announce big schemes for the North Karnataka during the Belagavi session.
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However, instead of announcing packages for North Karnataka, funds were curtailed, he said.
"Gruha Lakshmi scheme money to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore for the months of February and March could not be given to the beneficiaries. The government had dodged it. The finance department had covered it up. Our question is whether there was no money in the previous fiscal and why the government hid it," Ashoka said.
Gruha Lakshmi scheme is one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the state government. It promises Rs 2,000 per month to the women head of the families belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
Ashoka said if the government had money then it would have disbursed it.
"We want to know whether the government wanted to cheat people by not giving money or it did not have money,' the BJP leader said.
He added that the BJP waited for three days for Woman and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar to respond during the assembly session as 1.26 crore families were anxiously waiting for the money.
"This is a big scam. Even today, the minister has not uttered a word on the Gruha Lakshmi money for the months of February and March. She has stopped coming to Bengaluru. Our question is whether that was part of the budget. If yes, then where has the money gone?" he sought to know.
Ashoka said, "The BJP will hold protests till the money is disbursed to the beneficiaries. We obtained details of eight to 10 districts. When we approached other districts, the ministers threatened the district authorities not to share details."
Regarding the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, he said it was passed in a hurry without any discussion in both the Houses.
"This was an important bill because it takes away people’s freedom of expression. The government, which brought the Emergency taking away the personal liberties of people and jailing opposition members, journalists and judges, is once again resorting to the same attempt," Ashoka alleged. He was apparently referring to Emergency imposed by the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi in 1975.
According to him, no one can draw cartoons or expose scams once the bill becomes a law.
"There is nothing to feel good about this bill. People will not be able to air their woes on civic problems, rising crime and corruption. It is very clear that the government is targeting the opposition in order to control it," he alleged.
The BJP leader said the party will approach Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on his return from Madhya Pradesh and explain to him how this law is going to affect people and create problems for freedom of expression.
"We will persuade the Governor not to sign this bill. This is the Congress party’s law to put the opposition in jail. We will tell him that there is nothing in it to benefit society," he added.
