The committee formed to assess whether a cricket match could be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru Wednesday has rejected permission for the same.
The committee, under M Maheshwar Rao, Commissioner, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), reviewed the safety and other arrangements at the stadium on Monday before submitting a report to the government.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh told reporters Tuesday that the committee, composed of officials from the Fire and Emergency Services Department, Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company, Public Works Department, GBA, and the police, visited the stadium.
“As per the reports of the departments, the permission has not been granted for the match tomorrow. The Committee has given a detailed report. As of now, the permission is rejected,” Singh, who was a member of the committee, said.
A Vijay Hazare Trophy match – sans spectators – was scheduled to be held at the stadium on December 24, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) petitioned the government for permission.
On Monday, following a meeting with KSCA and senior police officers, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara announced a committee to review whether a match could be held at the venue. The committee visited the stadium to conduct an inspection, and submitted a report to the government.
The last cricket match was held at the stadium in May this year.
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A stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s victory parade at the Chinnaswamy Stadium following their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win claimed the lives of 11 people on June 4. After the stampede, the ICC Women’s World Cup matches were moved out of the stadium.
Earlier, the Bengaluru City police commissioner issued a letter outlining 17 safety guidelines to be followed for conducting the matches.
Earlier this month, the Karnataka Cabinet granted conditional approval for KSCA to organise cricket matches, provided safety recommendations made by the Justice Michael D’Cunha Commission are fulfilled.