‘Was never a believer that we need to have road shows': Gautam Gambhir reacts to Bengaluru stampede tragedy
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday reacted to the tragedy in Bengaluru when 11 people lost their lives in a stampede when they came to celebrate the Indian Premier League title triumph of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Gambhir said that he was not a fan of road shows and said he believed that there was no need for such things.
'I was never a believer that we need to have road shows. When I was playing I had the same statement to make. Even after winning 2007, that we should not have road shows. I think lives of people are more important and I will continue to say that in the future, we can be a little bit aware of not putting on these road shows and can probably have it inside close doors or in a stadium. It is very tragic what happened yesterday and my hear goes out to families who have lost their loved ones,' Gambhir said in a press conference.
On Wednesday morning, the Royal Challengers Bangalore team management announced that they will take out a victory march in an open bus from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium. However, the Bengaluru traffic police announced that there would be no victory parade amid traffic concerns.
The RCB team arrived at the airport shortly after, scheduled to meet Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, while the crown around the Chinnaswamy stadium swelled to over a lakh. Tragedy struck when when Gate 3 of the stadium partially opened and a crowd, comprising both ticket holders and those without tickets, attempted to swarm into the premises, leading to immeasurable chaos.
On Thursday, RCB announced financial support of Rs 10 lakh for the families of each of the 11 deceased during the stampede that ensued outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
'The unfortunate incident in Bengaluru yesterday has caused a lot of anguish and pain to the RCB family,' said RCB in a statement on Thursday. 'As a mark of respect and a gesture of solidarity, RCB has announced a financial support of INR 10 lakh to each of the eleven families of the deceased. In addition, a fund called RCB Cares is also being created to support fans injured in this tragic incident. Our fans will always remain at the heart of everything that we do. We remain united in grief.'
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