Mohali : Cricket mania has touched a crescendo in fortress Mohali as it gears up to stagethe eagerly-awaited World Cup semifinal clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan and even the ruckus over ticket sales has failed to dampen the fans' enthusiasm.
At Mohali, where the two teams will face each other on Wednesday, water-tight security has been put inplace. Multi-layered security has been thrown around the stadium, including Special Protection Group, National Security Guard, Central and State police forces.
"Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan besides a host of VVIPs will be watching the match. We have made water-tight security arrangements," Mohali's Senior Superintendent of Police, GPS Bhullar said. Anti-aircraft guns will be placed strategically and NSG commandos will join a large number of securitypersonnel
to guard the stadium, which will be primarily taken over by the elite SPG.
With arch-rivals facing each other after a long gap as bilateral action between the two nations had been suspended in wake of Mumbai terror attacks in 2008,
cricket mania has been touching new heights with each passing day.With hotel rooms in Chandigarh and Mohali and much beyond having been fully booked, some local residents in a gesture have thrown open their houses for Pakistani guests. Among those who will accommodate Pakistani guests are few senior advocates of Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh andNGO Yuvsatta's coordinator, Pramod Sharma. "When two governments have taken peace initiative, I think we as citizens should also contribute to help normalize relations,"
Sharma said. Chandigarh's nearly 1500 hotel rooms all are booked, a travel agent said. Leading hotels including theTaj, where two teams are staying, plan to have some makeshift arrangement in place to accommodate guests. Possibility of some guests being shifted elsewhere by leading hotels at Chandigarh to accommodate ever growing number of VVIPs expected to descend has not been ruled out, a hotel official told PTI. Virtually all star and budget accommodations being lapped up within a radius of 50km from Mohali & Chandigarh.
Punjab Cricket Association Secretary M P Pandove said they had given some tickets to Pakistan Cricket Board in advance. "The tickets available with us have already been sold," he said. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed along routes leading to the stadium, which is about 12km from Chandigarh's
Hotel Taj.
Security personnel also positioned themselves on rooftops in adjoining buildings of stadium to maintain strict vigil. Anti-sabotage teams, police, 150 CCTV cameras, Quick Reaction Teams, bomb disposal and sniffer dog squads would be in place as part of foolproof security, which also included drawing up of
contingency plans to meet any untoward situation.In addition to the two Premiers, a large number of top Indian politicians, business magnates, dignatories from ICC, BCCI, PCB, Bollywood celebrities are expected to be present here on March 30.Allegations that tickets of Rs 250 have been going as high as Rs 3,000 while Rs 1,000 priced tickets have been selling for Rs 10,000 in black market prompted police to keep a strict watch on those tryingto cash-in on the craze among fans to watch the semis between arch rivals. Police made few arrests of those trying to sell tickets in black.
At Mohali, where the two teams will face each other on Wednesday, water-tight security has been put inplace. Multi-layered security has been thrown around the stadium, including Special Protection Group, National Security Guard, Central and State police forces.
"Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan besides a host of VVIPs will be watching the match. We have made water-tight security arrangements," Mohali's Senior Superintendent of Police, GPS Bhullar said. Anti-aircraft guns will be placed strategically and NSG commandos will join a large number of securitypersonnel
to guard the stadium, which will be primarily taken over by the elite SPG.
With arch-rivals facing each other after a long gap as bilateral action between the two nations had been suspended in wake of Mumbai terror attacks in 2008,
cricket mania has been touching new heights with each passing day.With hotel rooms in Chandigarh and Mohali and much beyond having been fully booked, some local residents in a gesture have thrown open their houses for Pakistani guests. Among those who will accommodate Pakistani guests are few senior advocates of Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh andNGO Yuvsatta's coordinator, Pramod Sharma. "When two governments have taken peace initiative, I think we as citizens should also contribute to help normalize relations,"
Sharma said. Chandigarh's nearly 1500 hotel rooms all are booked, a travel agent said. Leading hotels including theTaj, where two teams are staying, plan to have some makeshift arrangement in place to accommodate guests. Possibility of some guests being shifted elsewhere by leading hotels at Chandigarh to accommodate ever growing number of VVIPs expected to descend has not been ruled out, a hotel official told PTI. Virtually all star and budget accommodations being lapped up within a radius of 50km from Mohali & Chandigarh.
Punjab Cricket Association Secretary M P Pandove said they had given some tickets to Pakistan Cricket Board in advance. "The tickets available with us have already been sold," he said. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed along routes leading to the stadium, which is about 12km from Chandigarh's
Hotel Taj.
Security personnel also positioned themselves on rooftops in adjoining buildings of stadium to maintain strict vigil. Anti-sabotage teams, police, 150 CCTV cameras, Quick Reaction Teams, bomb disposal and sniffer dog squads would be in place as part of foolproof security, which also included drawing up of
contingency plans to meet any untoward situation.In addition to the two Premiers, a large number of top Indian politicians, business magnates, dignatories from ICC, BCCI, PCB, Bollywood celebrities are expected to be present here on March 30.Allegations that tickets of Rs 250 have been going as high as Rs 3,000 while Rs 1,000 priced tickets have been selling for Rs 10,000 in black market prompted police to keep a strict watch on those tryingto cash-in on the craze among fans to watch the semis between arch rivals. Police made few arrests of those trying to sell tickets in black.
