Sri Lanka cancel training due to "severe" air pollution in Delhi, Bangladesh brave it out with masks
New Delhi, Nov 4: Sri Lanka cancelled their opening training session in the national capital on Saturday due to "severe" air pollution but Bangladesh braved the adverse weather conditions to train, a day after choosing to skip their practice session.
Bangladesh, who arrived here on Wednesday, had decided against practising on Friday as the pollution levels in the city hit the "severe plus" category.
Sri Lanka followed them into staying indoors on Saturday when the Air Quality Index stood at 407 in the morning.
"It was cancelled owing to the air quality issue," said a SLC source, referring to the Saturday's training session.
However, Bangladesh players, wearing masks, came out for practice at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".
It is unlikely that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will shift the game out of Delhi but the call on whether the match will go ahead will only be taken on that day.
"We are currently assessing the situation. The ICC and our hosts the BCCI take the well-being of all participants seriously and are monitoring the air quality in Delhi. We are taking expert advice to assess the situation," an ICC spokesperson told PTI.
The air quality is usually assessed by match officials on the day of a game.
It is not the first time that Sri Lanka are having to deal with Delhi's notorious air pollution. The players had to wear masks during the Test series back in 2017. Even the Bangladesh cricketers resorted to wearing masks in Delhi ahead of a T20 in 2019.
On Friday, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud said the players developed cough after going out in the city and therefore the management decided to cancel the first training session.
On Friday, the air quality plummeted to the "severe plus" category.
"Many( cricketers) went out yesterday (Thursday) and now they are having some kind of coughing so there is a risk factor involved and so we cancelled the training so that they don't get unwell," said Mahmud at the team hotel.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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