Mohali, November 1
In an unusual exercise for the Punjab Police the local police has collected feedback from over a thousand spectators who watched the various Champion Trophy ODI matches held at the PCA stadium.
With comments ranging from “you rock” and “keep up the good work” to “needs improvement” and “too much security,” the police has set up a team of officers to analyse the data and report in detail the observations made by spectators.
Interestingly, over 80 per cent of the spectators were satisfied with the security arrangements and behavior of the police, over 65 per cent of those who had watched a match here earlier reported that the arrangements had improved.
“Keep up the good work. You rock,” commented Sunil Thakur, a 24-year-old resident of Panchkula. “Marked change in security and parking arrangements. Well done and a pleasure to be hers. Keep it up,” wrote Madhu Pillai, a 40-year-old spectator.
But everyone was not that satisfied. “Let us bring our mobiles in. What is the big deal,” commented Karuna, a 23-year-old student. Hundreds others at the stadium demanded the same thing. Pritesh Rupa, a 37-year-old sub post master from the UK too said, “Restriction on mobile phones unnecessary.” “Allow mobile phones. Only one per family,” suggested Dhiraj Anand a 42-year-old spectator from Gurgaon.
Some others were quick to point out that the police had allowed some to bring in their mobiles while others were stopped alleging discrimination. Abhishek Bhardwaj, a 22-year-old college student wrote: “Check properly. Some have mobile also.” “Rules should be strictly enforced for all. Most of the people were carrying mobiles despite the ban,” said Ravinder Sidhu, a spectator from Udaipur sitting at the terrace block.
While the broad trends are nothing less than a big pat on the back for Mohali police which had made exhaustive arrangements for these matches, arrangements made by the PCA for the spectators left much to be desired.
Hundreds have complained about the acute dearth of drinking water in the stadium and exorbitantly expensive snacks. Jasdeep Singh Anand, a 31-year-old Merchant Navy officer sitting in the general block wrote, “Quality of snacks was poor. Wafers and cold drinks were being sold at rates higher than the MRP.” “Kindly improve the water arrangements and quality of food along with the cost. A single glass of cold drink which was not even filled cost Rs 20,” said Dr Ashok Aggarwal, a 26-year-old dentist. Many others wanted more variety in food and some others wanted it served.
Many spectators demanded that the seats be shaded. “Anup Sharma, a 21-year-old student from Muktsar, said, “There are no sheds. And it gets very hot.” Please give a cap with each ticket,” suggested Bharti Rawat, a 29-year-old architect from the city.
The stadium also came in for sharp criticism from spectators regarding seats being dirty in the VIP and terrace block. “The seating arrangements were very very poor. After paying Rs 5000 ticket for the seat, it was not even cleaned properly. This is cheating,” said Mr N. Ramkumara, 40-year-old spectator who was sitting in the PCC Members block. “VIP block was not worth Rs 5000,” said Pankaj Sardana, a 32-year-old spectator. Those watching the match from the AC lounge complained that they could not see anything from the last two rows. “Cannot see the match from last two rows of AC Lounge. Wasted Rs 15000 for tickets here,’ said Suresh a 52-year-old businessman.
Some spectators also pointed out at some of the glaring lacunae in arrangements, “No dustbins anywhere,’ wrote Nitish Nanda, a 16-year-old student from Gurdaspur.
Others gave suggestions. Headphones for commentary, a good canteen, more screens and some basic information brochures about the teams, background of players, matches etc, demanded a 35-year-old spectator sitting in the Corporate Box. “Information brochure should have been available on the internet,” wrote Nandu Kothari.
