The Karnataka cabinet has approved the return of Indian Premier League matches to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, several months after cricketing events were halted due to a tragic stampede that resulted in 11 fatalities during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL title celebrations last June.
The clearance follows the submission of the Justice Cunha report, which proposed a range of immediate, mid-term and long-term measures to enhance spectator safety at the venue. State officials stated that the approval is conditional and subject to strict adherence to the report’s recommendations.
Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy confirmed the decision on Thursday, noting:
“The cabinet agreed with certain conditions as per the Cunha report. He mentioned in the report a maximum of 35,000 people and other conditions. Accordingly, we have made the decision,” Reddy said, referring to the limit on crowd size and other required safety measures.
Earlier in the day, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar convened a high-level meeting at Vidhana Soudha with KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad, the association’s secretary, along with senior government and police officials to review arrangements for hosting matches at the stadium.
Safety Protocols and Assurances
Explaining the cabinet’s resolution, Dr Parameshwar stated:
“Today evening, the Cabinet has taken a decision to permit KSCA and RCB to conduct the IPL matches in Bengaluru.”
He further noted that although every recommendation had not yet been completely executed, considerable progress had already been achieved.
“There are three categories of recommendations. One is what we should immediately do. The second one was a medium-term category, like gates, parking lots, the health department, ambulances and these kinds of things.”
“The long-term one was infrastructure. For all these, on a timeline, they have given us a commitment, and the government has accepted those commitments and given them in-principle permission to conduct IPL matches.”
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
