Bhubaneswar: With criticism galore over floodlight failure leading to disruption of the second ODI between India and England at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the Odisha Government on 10 February issued a Show Cause notice to Odisha Cricket Association (OCA).
ODI on 9 February was disrupted for around 30 minutes as floodlights in one of the towers failed abruptly.
Opposition BJD held the BJP Government equally responsible over the flopshow and demanded resignation of Minister Sports and Youth Services, Suryabanshi Suraj.
Director Sports Siddhartha Das said in a letter to OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera said that, “The OCA is hereby directed to submit a detailed explanation for the cause of disruption and identify the persons/agencies that were responsible for such lapses and outline the measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The findings must be submitted within 10 days upon receipt of this letter, Shri Das said.
Minister Sports and Youth Services Suryabanshi Suraj said stringent action would be taken against the persons responsible for the incident and even suggested the arrest of those found guilty.
“This (match disruption due to floodlight failure) is a serious matter and has hurt the sports lovers across the state and pained us. Therefore, the Department of Sports has issued a show cause notice to the OCA. They have sub-committees to look after different aspects in the ODI.
Shri Suraj said “Earlier, we had also reviewed the preparations twice to streamline the system. Still, it is yet to be found out as to which committee was in charge of the floodlight and why the backup generator could not reach the place at the appropriate time”.
OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera had told Media that the backup generators could not reach the floodlight tower immediately because the players’ bus was parked near it.
“The driver was not in the bus and he was called up and asked to remove the vehicle after which the generators could reach the tower and the power was restored,” Shri Behera informed.
Opposition political parties of Odisha blamed the OCA for the fiasco.
Spokesperson of BJD Lenin Mohanty said in a statement that the Barabati power disruption has caused embarrassment for Odisha in front of the global sports community.
“After a gap of nearly six years, Odisha hosted an international cricket match. The failure in organising this prestigious event falls under the responsibility of the OCA and the State Government, who were entrusted with the task,” he said.
“We demand the resignation of Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj for bringing a bad name for Odisha,” BJD Spokesperson Shri Mohanty said.
Veteran Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said his party will raise the matter in the upcoming Budget Session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly