In the build-up to the World Cup’s return to Pune after 27 years, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) had claimed to have done its best to make it convenient for the spectators.
The first of the five matches here, and the most high-profile game the city is to host in the tournament, ended up with the same old problems cropping their heads up again.
With almost a five-kilometre-long stretch while approaching the MCA International Stadium being a single-lane service road off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, heavy traffic was the norm along the route on Thursday.
Multiple spectators believed the traffic management was worse than what they had witnessed in the Indian Premier League.
“Signages were missing, the police were not letting cars or two-wheelers to drive towards the designated parking lots and it was quite a mess,” said Kedar Sathe, an Indian Railways employee who was seated in the North Stand.
“When we finally managed to park somewhere, there were long queues to walk towards the main gate and nobody knew whether the queue he or she was in was the one for their gate. There were no volunteers to guide us as well.”
Atharva Rale, an 18-year-old engineering student, and his three friends took more than two and a half hours to reach their seats after starting from their home 25 km away from the stadium.
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“The last five kilometres took almost an hour and a half, so effectively we started hoping to watch the toss but eventually by the time we entered the stands, Hardik Pandya had long been injured and headed back into the dressing room,” says Rale.
As a result, for the first half of the match, the stadium appeared to be far from being fully occupied. Long queues, stretching beyond a kilometre, were observed outside gates even after the match had begun.
The regulars or smart operators knew how to beat the traffic. Sunil Gondhali, a 62-year-old retired corporate professional, decided to adopt the early-starter route.
“Sensing the usual traffic jam, we decided to drive down early. And it was quite seamless. We got a slot in a parking lot closest to the ground. Overall it has been an enjoyable experience,” he says.
“Unlimited water supply, washroom taps have never run dry too. The only suggestion is to increase the number of dustbins to maintain the highest standard of cleanliness. Also, the refreshment area is too small for the volume of crowd it caters to.”
The newly-elected regime at MCA, headed by Rohit Pawar, has introduced multiple measures, like having acquired 42-acre land in and around the stadium for parking lots and providing free drinking water across the stadium.
However, there is a lot more room for improvement to make it a memorable experience for fans.
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