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First Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
Where does the buck stop? Bengaluru stampede another grim reminder of utter lack of accountability?
A tragic stampede in Bengaluru during RCB's IPL 2025 victory celebration claimed 11 lives and injured over 75. This incident has raised serious questions about planning, crowd control, and accountability. Here's a deep dive into what went wrong. read more What happened in Bengaluru on Wednesday is heartbreaking and gut-wrenching on just so many levels. 11 people lost their lives and reportedly more than 75 were left injured , several reportedly in critical condition. This was news that left most people completely gob-smacked. The frenzy amongst RCB fans in Bengaluru was not surprising, after all the team has become IPL champions for the first time since the inception of the league in 2008. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This was a dream 18 years in the making. What is surprising though that despite warnings and real concerns being raised, the people who took the call went ahead with this rather ill-timed and haphazardly put together event to celebrate the city's first IPL title. Cricket is a religion in India, yes, but nothing can trump safety, not even IPL euphoria. Anyone who lives in India knows just how quickly a crowd can become unruly and how difficult it can be to control a crowd that numbers in lakhs and is pumped-up on the heady cocktail of euphoria and hero-worship. Which is why this was another extremely grim reminder of how easily safety concerns are put in the backseat in the country. Did the powers that be forget that India is the most populous country in the world? Did they not know that RCB is an extremely popular IPL franchise, whose popularity extends well beyond the geographical borders of the city of Bengaluru and that potentially lakhs would show up to greet the team and catch one glimpse of their cricketing heroes? How could this happen? Who allowed it? And who should be held accountable? As things stand right now, the buck is being passed, as usual. The Karnataka Home Minister has gone on record to say – 'We did not request RCB or the KCA, they organised it. They are the ones who brought the team to Bengaluru. The government also felt it should facilitate this, as it was the Bengaluru team.' So, are we saying that the state government felt it could not put its foot down and demand that the victory parade be held at a later date, when overall public safety protocols could have been put in place better? The RCB franchise meanwhile has put out a statement saying – 'Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our program, and followed, the guidance and advice of the local administration…' The Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister has confirmed that he asked the franchise to end the celebrations 'within 10 minutes' and that the team complied immediately, but surely the franchise should have waited for a complete green signal from the state authorities, especially the police force, who is responsible for crowd control, before going ahead with an event of this magnitude? Was the franchise not aware of just how important crowd control is when it comes to events like these? Were they 100% convinced that all proper safety protocols were in place? Interestingly, the Deccan Herald published quotes of a senior Bengaluru police officer who said – 'We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In other words, advice of the people who were actually going to control the crowd, which anyone worth their salt knows can turn unruly at the drop of a hat at an event like this, was ignored. But why? Again, speaking to the Deccan Herald, a senior officer revealed that neither the franchise nor the state government wanted to wait till the weekend. One reason given for this was that the foreign players wouldn't be available, if they waited. No one wants to stop a team from celebrating a big win with their die-hard fans, but surely not at the risk of human lives. The VIPs will always be well protected, but what about the common man? He or she has no bodyguards. The Chinnaswamy stadium is not a very large venue. It has a capacity of around thirty-five thousand. According to news reports about three lakh people showed up at the stadium for the celebration. That's almost 10 times the capacity of the ground. According to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, no one expected so many people to show up. The question here is who advised the government about roughly how many fans were expected to be there? And how can anyone know this for sure? According to news reports, the initial plan was to hold a procession from the Vidhana Soudha, where the team was felicitated by the CM to the Chinnaswamy stadium. Thankfully better sense prevailed here and that plan was scrapped. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the middle of all of this, spare a thought for the police personnel who were in charge of crowd control. Almost every single image of the stampede and the burgeoning crowd that has been published, where you can see police personnel, shows them gritting their teeth, trying to control an ocean of people. It wasn't surprising to read reports of 'mild lathi-charge'. The IPL final finished late at night on Tuesday, June 3 and the felicitation and city celebration were planned for the very next day. In other words, there was no scope or time for any fixed event timings to be disseminated, which further added to the confusion. All that the fans knew was that the team was returning to the city with the trophy and that they would get a chance to catch a glimpse of the team they have supported, regardless of multiple seasons of heartbreaks. According to some fans, only two of the thirteen stadium gates had been opened for entry. Imagine a crowd of lakhs trying to squeeze into a stadium that can only accommodate thirty-five thousand, through two narrow gates. Though initially there were plans of a pass system, entry was made free, so not surprisingly, everyone who had shown up wanted to enter the stadium. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to official statements, about five thousand police personnel were deployed. Five thousand officers trying to manage a crowd of three lakh - you don't have to be a logistics expert to know that that is a recipe for disaster. And this could potentially have been avoided if the advice of the senior police officers was heeded. All they needed was more time to plan this better. The turnaround time was ridiculously limited for an event of this scale. Was it surprising then to hear of broken barricades, of cries of anguish and despair, of young people lying motionless and others giving them CPR? Another big question that needs to be asked is – were all the authorities and decision makers ready with at least a rough plan or model for a procession? RCB entered the final on May 29 – five days before the event. There was a 50% chance of them winning the title. Surely, many of the logistical chinks could have been ironed out well in advance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Thankfully, in the middle of all of this, one voice of reason, in terms of avoiding such tragedies in the future is that of the BCCI's. The Indian Board has said that everyone needs to learn a lesson from what happened in Bengaluru on Wednesday, calling the heart-breaking incident an 'eye-opener'. The BCCI has rightly pointed out that they cannot stop or allow a franchise from celebrating a win in a particular way. But going ahead, in the light of what has happened, they can definitely try and bring all ten teams to the table to try and figure out a safe and fun way of celebrating a team's IPL triumph. In the last twenty years, there have been at least ten major stampedes in India. The last one was at the Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela in January this year, which left 30 people dead and 90 injured. Crowds, no matter where you go in India, are a reality. Surely euphoria over a first-time championship win cannot make people forget just how easily a crowd situation can turn fatal here. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. But the million-dollar question is – where exactly will the buck stop?
The Hindu
6 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
KCA completes U-15 trials; State Cricket Academy to come up in Thodupuzha
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has completed its final phase of selection trials to induct players into the revived State Cricket Academy, which will be opened in Thodupuzha. The selection for Under-15 players from the North Zone was held at Conorvoyal Stadium in Thalassery on Tuesday. A total of 24 shortlisted players from Palakkad, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod attended the trial. The process was overseen by former Ranji player and selector Ranji Philips with support from State coach Diju Das and sand conditioning coach A.K. Rahul Das. KCA secretary Vinod S. Kumar said the selection process was now complete, with 59 players assessed in total. Of them, around 20 will be inducted initially. 'This time we are focusing on quality over quantity. The goal is to produce players ready to represent the State in two years,' he said. The State academy, which had earlier functioned across a few centres but was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, is being relaunched with renewed focus. Thodupuzha was chosen for its dual ground facilities, one of which will be fully dedicated to academy training, Mr. Kumar said. 'Most young players now train only on turf grounds. This academy will give them more ground exposure to build all-round skills in batting, bowling, and fielding,' Mr. Kumar said. The academy will be equipped with infrastructure including dormitories, study rooms, offices, and an indoor stadium. The construction of the facility is expected to be completed within six months. Until then, selected players will be accomodated in a rented facility, with arrangements being finalised with nearby schools for their education. The KCA also plans to set up zonal academies in the North, Central and South regions in the coming years as feeder centres to scout and develop cricketing talent across Kerala.
Hamilton Spectator
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Kimberley group's hall usage bumps up against $3,000 limit on waiver of rental fees
New rules and a new cap for Grey Highlands community grant program posed a few conundrums at a recent meeting. Several items were sent back to the council table for a decision. Two are simple enough. The first, a request that council consider adding the price increase for the tent for Flesherton Fling to get ongoing support as a 'Significant Community Event'. The second, the same request for the Flesherton-Markdale Legion for its Remembrance Day Luncheon. The other was from the Kimberley Community Association (KCA), whose $11,000 in rental fee waiver requests for the Kimberley Hall more than tripled the $3,000 limit. The rest of the applications will come back to council either approved or denied at the committee level. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE The final grant decisions still lie in the hands of council, and will likely be considered June 7. Staff member Rob Del Duca said he will contact groups to let them know the preliminary results of decisions by the Financial Assistance Committee. Members of the committee are Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen, who is the chair, Coun. Tom Allwood and resident Colleen Boer. During the 2025 budget, council decided to cap support through the Financial Assistance Program at $30,000. That includes the estimated value of fee waivers on municipal facilities. Those requests made up most of what came before the committee. Changes were made to the terms of reference for the committee as well, which will now meet only once a year. The policy says that the majority of participants must be Grey Highlands residents. That's a matter that was discussed by council earlier, because many communities are near or on the border with other municipalities. Capital improvements to privately-owned buildings or municipal buildings are not eligible. There are three categories: -Projects or one-time support (limit is the lesser of $2,500 or 50 percent); -Events (Venue rentals up to $3,000); -Staff Support (up to $250 for additional staff time for events) TIMING The meeting was delayed, partly because the budget was not passed until February. Staff member Rob Del Duca said further delays were caused by staff shortages. One of the program changes reduced the intake from two times a year to once only. This year, applications were open between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31. Given that the year is half-over, Coun. Tom Allwood observed, many of the fee waivers applied for are for events that have already taken place. In the case of the KCA, the present value of fee waivers used is $2,600. Coun. Tom Allwood said that perhaps a different arrangement should be made with the KCA – possibly a Memorandum of Understanding. 'I don't see how we can cherry-pick these 13 requests and come up with $400, which is all that's left in the funding envelope.' Mr. Del Duca agreed it was a 'huge ask'. He said that the KCA didn't know how to eliminate them, and decided to submit them despite knowing they were over-budget. Mr. Del Duca said staff had been thinking that the intake period should be moved earlier, so decisions were made before many activities had already taken place. Coun. Allwood moved that the decision on the Kimberley Community Association requests be referred back to council, which was passed. However, Deputy Mayor Nielsen said the timing could put staff in a pinch, because the KCA might reach its fee waiver limit before the next council. The committee heard from staff that they would reach out and perhaps the group could scale back activities in the meantime. The way the fee waiver limit works is the $3,000 applies to one group. In some other communities, there are many different community groups, rather than one over-arching Association, as in Kimberley. For example, there were requests for blocks of subsidiary activities, such as 52 from bridge players and 24 from community gardens. Also, a couple of the events involved partnering with other groups, Friends of the Library, and a request for a speaker series, which has involved the Probus Club in the past. RECOMMENDED SUPPORT At the start of the meeting, it was announced that the remaining cash budget was just under $20,000. Grey Highlands budget included $111,500 in commitments, but of that $60,000 is given through Memorandums of Understanding, and about $33,000 for significant community events. Requests were approved for many fee waivers, and some cash support, including: -Centre Grey Foundation for the Centre Grey Rec Complex for the Gran Fondo cycling fundraiser; -Centre Grey Lions Club for business meetings and two trivia night fundraisers at the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre in Rocklyn. -Feversham Agricultural Society for the Osprey Community Centre for a volunteer appreciation event and business meetings and for business rentals for the Junior Fair Board. -Feversham Kinsmen for two-day use of the Osprey Community Centre for Christmas activities, for the Heritage Dinner, the Strawberry Supper and for business meetings (limited to 15 rather than 20 to keep it under the $3,000 total. -Friends of the Kimberley Forest, $425 cash for a community celebration for the new parking lot and trail head recognition at Sideroad 4A and 7 Line, and fee waivers for business meetings at the Kimberley Hall. -Friends of the Rocklyn Arena - requests for fee waivers for business meetings, money to pay for outdoor portable toilets and handwash stations for events for Father's Day Classic Car and Antique Tractor Show. Another request for cash toward entertainment was delayed until the council meeting because of lack of clarity about the amount requested. -Grey Bruce Native Seed Bank - $2,500 to promote and deliver the program. The funding is for one year, and to qualify again, there would have to be an expansion or something new. -Grey County Farm Safety Association - $500 cash contribution to promote and deliver programming. -Markdale Recreation Committee – for business meetings at the Centre Grey Recreation Complex, and $500 for a youth collaboration event with the library. -Osprey Recreation Committee – for waiver of rentals of Osprey hall meeting room for business meetings. -Pickleball Club of Grey Highlands – for waiver of fees for Flesherton Arena for five three-hour rentals. -Priceville Improvement Committee – $400 for flowers to beautify the village; waiver of fees for fundraising events. -Rocklyn 4-H Lifeskills – for business meeting fee waivers for Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre. -Rocklyn Ag Society – Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for business meetings, and five fundraisers. -Rocklyn Country Theatre – for use of the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for 10 rehearsals and four-day play. -Royal Canadian Legion Br. 333 -Flesherton Complex large hall for annual Mess Dinner and for Remembrance Day lunch. -Temple Hill United Church – for the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for three fundraising events. -VON Grey Bruce – for Markdale hall for Exercise and fall prevention. The value is $3,000, and the VON had requested waivers for more, but will be paying the balance themselves. Applications that were denied either didn't meet the program criteria, or had operational reasons given by staff. The Feversham Ag Society had requested $2,500 toward new chairs for the Osprey Community Centre, which staff said is properly a Grey Highlands operational budget decision. Another circumstance was a request that the municipality bring 25 picnic tables for Rocklyn arena for use at the Father's Day event, which Mr. DelDuca said staff had made an operational decision not to move municipal picnic tables to costs for staff time and equipment. A note also said the municipality did not have the tables to fulfill the request. As well, a request made by the Rocklyn Ag Society for ball field repairs and maintenance was denied. Staff said that to bring the 'unmaintained ball field' to be ready for a tournament would take significant maintenance by staff. The diamond would be prepared to be safe and level, the committee heard, but not to the standard for recreational ball.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Women's cricket championship starts May 19
Kanpur: The third Dr Gaur Hari Singhania memorial state level women cricket championship for Spark Cup is set to be organised by the Kanpur Cricket Association at Kamla club ground from May 19. Besides defending champion KCA (Red), KCA (Blue), Saharanpur, Lucknow, Gazipur division and Allahabad district team will participate in this championship. According to Kaushal Kumar Singh, secretary KCA, all matches of the championship will be of 35 overs each innings. Teams have been divided in two pools and pool winners will clash in the final slated to be held on May 25. Table Tennis --- CECSE North Zone Table Tennis championship will be organised jointly by Dr VS Public school civil lines & Mahrana Pratap Education Centre Indrapuri on May 20 to 21. Around 84 players (boys & girls) from seven schools will participate in this event which will be held under 14, 17 & 19 years age group. Taekwondo – Kanpur won as many as 48 medals including 34 gold and 5 silver medals in fifth Bharat Ratna Atal Behari Bajpai state Taekwondo Championship being held at KD Singh babu stadium Lucknow from May 15 to 18. On day one, fresher event was held in which Kanpur team performed very well and collected maximum gold. Around 4,700 players are participating in this event.
Business Recorder
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
National cotton policy: KCA hails APTMA-PCGA decision
LAHORE: The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) has taken note of recent reports in the electronic media indicating that the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) are collaborating to draft a National Cotton Policy, formulate a standardized sale/purchase contract for raw cotton, and work towards the revival of cotton production in the country. The KCA has expressed its appreciation for these efforts and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at revitalizing Pakistan's cotton sector. The KCA recalled that it has been consistently urging all stakeholders in the cotton economy to come together and develop a joint strategy for the government's consideration to boost cotton production. The objective is to meet the growing demands of the local textile industry, generate surplus for export to earn foreign exchange, and reduce reliance on cotton imports to conserve the country's valuable foreign reserves. However, despite repeated invitations, the KCA has yet to receive a positive response from other key players in the cotton trade for reasons that remain unclear. The association has repeatedly urged the government to take necessary steps to enhance cotton quality, improve bale packaging, and ensure a standardized weight of 170 kg per bale for the benefit of the entire cotton trade and industry. The KCA emphasized that cotton exporters, as secondary buyers, play a crucial role in stabilizing the market and protecting the interests of cotton growers. It further stressed that any National Cotton Policy should only be finalized after thorough consultations with all stakeholders, including the KCA, which serves as the premier body of Pakistan's cotton trade. The KCA highlighted that it had previously developed a draft for a local sale/purchase contract for raw cotton, incorporating provisions for arbitration under its bylaws in case of disputes between buyers and sellers. This draft was shared with APTMA and PCGA for approval. While PCGA endorsed the proposal, APTMA's approval remains pending. The KCA believes that since the draft contract was the result of extensive deliberations and has already been approved by both KCA and PCGA, APTMA should also consider endorsing it to avoid unnecessary delays in finalizing a new draft. The KCA has called upon the government to ensure that any National Cotton Policy is finalized and approved only after comprehensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including the KCA. Additionally, the association has urged authorities to implement measures aimed at increasing cotton production, improving quality, standardizing bale weights, and enhancing packaging to support the broader cotton trade and industry. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
