Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin supports Ganguly's bid to conduct Day/Night Tests
Kolkata, Oct 25: Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has supported BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's claims to hold Day/Night Tests.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association president is happy that skipper Virat Kohli is also on the same page with the BCCI president.
"It is good if captain is agreeable like Dada. It is a good experiment. You will get to know if public will like it or not. It should be implemented," Azharuddin said during the felicitation ceremony.
Azhar, who was Ganguly's first international captain, is happy to see him grow in his role as an administrator.
"I am very happy Ganguly has become the BCCI president. He's one of the finest persons and an outstanding human being. One of the best players we won so many tournaments. He played cricket in his terms and as BCCI president too I hope he will play that on his term also," he said.
Azhar, who made his Test debut at the Eden Gardens with a century and later had some memorable moments at this ground including captaincy saving hundred and Hero Cup victory, said that he is number two in terms of popularity.
"With the advent of Ganguly, I have become number two, because he is the local boy here. Then after that Laxman came," he said in a lighter vein standing on the dias with Ganguly and Laxman by his side.
Azhar fondly recollected his starting days and thanked former Bengal captain and newly formed Indian Cricketers' Association president Ashok Malhotra for pushing his case during an Irani Cup game, which used to be a trial for national team selection.
"When I was first selected for Irani Trophy. I was not going to play that match, but he (Malhotra) told Kapil Paaji that you have to play this boy. I cannot forget that.
"I got 50 runs in that match and got the recognition. It's nice to see him here after a long time," Azharuddin said on the sidelines of Sourav Ganguly's felicitation after he became the BCCI president.
Malhotra, who has been elected as ICA president unanimously, was also part of the felicitation ceremony.
"Whenever I come to Eden Gardens, I have no words to say. People really love me here. When I first played for India, I thought people loved me more in Bengal," Azhar said.
"I thank the people of Bengal from bottom of my heart. They have rallied around me during the good and bad times. I thought I gave a little bit of joy. I got more from people of Bengal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Water crisis hits Ballari’s jeans industry as over 100 units shut temporarily, hundreds left jobless
Ballari: A severe water shortage in Karnataka's Ballari is crippling the region’s jeans industry, leading to the temporary closure of over 100 jeans units and leaving hundreds of workers unemployed. The crisis, which has been ongoing for over a month, has reportedly left the industry in turmoil as many units that are still running are using tanker water, which is expensive.
Ballari, often referred to as the "Jeans Capital" of India, is home to 732 jeans production units, which rely heavily on water-intensive washing processes. The industry association has requested the administration to provide sufficient water to run the units, as reported by The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
All the 732 jeans factories in Ballari depend on fifteen washing units to finish their products. Although water shortages have been a recurring issue every summer for the past decade, no permanent solution has been found, the report added.
The situation has reached a critical point, with many units halting production due to the skyrocketing cost of water. Industry associations have appealed to the local administration for a more reliable water supply, but their repeated requests have largely been ignored by both officials and political leaders.
An owner of one of the units noted that summer started 15 days early this year which exacerbated the situation. “Instead of waiting and paying more money to wash jeans products, some owners have shut their units for four to five months. This has left a large number of people unemployed,” TNIE quoted the owner as saying.
Meanwhile, owners of the jeans washing units are pinning their hopes on the apparel park planned by the Karnataka state government, which is expected to provide a dedicated water pipeline from the Tungabhadra Dam to address the ongoing water shortage.
_vb_78.jpeg)
