IPL 8: Of highway and Western Ghats, the Pune stadium
If you do not have a car, ask for a lift to get to the venue.
Pune: Far from the maddening crowd, on the highway bordered by the Western Ghats, lies MCA International Stadium. The locals say that the surface area of the site is at par with Eden Gardens in Kolkata. But getting to the stadium isn’t simple. It is at least 35 kms from the city.
“If you have your own car, it is not an issue but otherwise, you may ask for a lift,” said one of the police constables on duty for the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals.
So how do people from the metropolis reach the venue?
“Everyone here usually have their own vehicle. Otherwise, the auto rickshaw takes about Rs 200 from the Shivaji Nagar area to come here,” said one official from the Maharashtra Cricket Association.
Nitin Shinde, a second-year college student, had to bargain at least 20 minutes with an auto driver to catch his favourite cricketers in action.
“I think it is worth it. You hardly get to watch Mitchell Johnson, James Faulkner, Ajinkya Rahane in action from close quarters. I paid Rs 250 (50 more than the usual fare) to the auto guy,” he said.
The buses plying from Mumbai usually doesn’t halt here but IPL – known to turn over new leaves – made it a dropping point.
Tourists from the Maximum City didn’t face any hassle.
The IPL is a festival of a kind for the auto drivers as well as private cabbies. They reportedly ask for money according to their own whims and fancies whenever there is a match here.
Sharing a vehicle is also a common practice.
Pragya Palkar, an IT professional, drove three of her colleagues and their children to the venue.
“They did not have a car and they’d bought tickets for the match. So I thought why should they take so much trouble when I was going alone? Hence, we all came together painting our faces and carrying Kings XI flags,” she said.
Nonetheless, some private cars are expected to shuttle from stadium to the city late night after the match is over.
However, the MCA officials – being kind to the media – arranged buses for scribes till a certain point.
But commoners, if you do not have a vehicle, start exercising your thumbs.