Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) might once again get away with the delay in renovation of the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, with the Delhi government likely to give a Provisional No Objection Certificate (NOC) to conduct the India-Sri Lanka Test match from December 10 to 14.
Teething problems exist, particularly with regard to safety measures to deal with emergencies. And while the Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have given the NOC, it is subject to the Fire Services giving the go ahead.
But the arguments of DDCA President and former Union Minister Arun Jaitley convinced Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her entourage, who visited the stadium on Wednesday, to make an exception for one more time.
The Fire Department had given the clearance the last time for the India-Pakistan one-dayer in April as an exception and as a special consideration but this time around the department is unwilling to divert its resources to DDCA for five days.
Jaitley, Dikshit and officials of the MCD, Fire and Police Department held an animated discussion right in the middle of the ground and before full media glare, after which the CM addressed the media.
"There are some concerns. They have yet to get the NOC from the Fire Department... (Whereas) not much crowd is expected for a five-day match. We have to see that the match is not cancelled but at the same time safety measures are also met," Dikshit said.
ground hosts England for a Test match early next year.
Jaitley said with a "little co-operation" from the state officials, the match should go ahead without any problems.
When a television journalist mentioned about the renovation work running much beyond its deadline -- the work started in late 2003 and still continues with only half the stadium's capacity available at the moment -- Jaitley's reply was typically acidic in the garb of a witty comment: "Unfortunately, it takes two to three years to construct a stadium. It is not like a television programme that can be produced in 1-1/2 hours."
The Fire Department, on its part, is apparently reluctant to give the DDCA the green signal. During an inspection of the stadium carried out on Tuesday, they found out that there were not enough extinguishers and fire alarms. More importantly, the pumps, needed for the fire extinguishers, did not have the required pressure.
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