Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy stadium has been deemed unfit and unsafe to host massive public gatherings in the aftermath of the unfortunate stampede that happened at the venue following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL triumph.
The unfortunate incident happened on July 4, leaving 11 people dead11 deaths and over 50 injured. RCB marketing and revenue head Nihil Sosale was arrested at Bengaluru Airport, as he was heading to Dubai, in the aftermath of the stampede incident.
As a result of the sequence of events that happened, the stadium might be barred from hosting high-attendance events as the government has decided to act on the findings of the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission report. They found out that the infrastructure and amenities inside the stadium was inadequate in order to host mass gatherings.
Also Read: Chinnaswamy Stampede: Karnataka Government Blames RCB For Unfortunate Mishap
Current Location Poses Unacceptable Risk to Public Safety: Commission Report
The commission was set up to probe into the unfortunate stampede that happened at the Chinnaswamy stadium on July 4. The report they submitted highlighted crucial shortcomings in terms of infrastructure inside the venue. From space shortage for fans queuing up to get inside the stadium to insufficient number of gates for large-scale entry and exit and lack of public transport in case of an emergency, all these points were highlighted in the submitted report. There is also a problem with emergency evacuation inside the stadium and also insufficient parking around the venue.
“Any future venue should adhere to international standards. Until such infrastructural changes are made, continuing to host high-attendance events at the current location poses unacceptable risks to public safety, urban mobility and emergency preparedness,”the Commission said as quoted by the Deccan Herald.
Currently, the Chinnaswamy stadium hosts a crowd of 32000. The stadium was built in 1974 currently managed and operated by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). The venue spreads across 16 acres of land owned by the Public Workd Department given on lease to the KSCA for maintenance.
“The design and structure of the stadium was unsuitable and unsafe for mass gathering [sic]. All the entry and exit gates were directly opening into the footpath. Spacious and organized holding area for crowd were not provided at the entry, as a result, the audience were forced to queue up on the footpath or road (obstructing) and endangering pedestrians and vehicular movement as well as giving scope for miscreants to join the crowd aggravating the risk, especially in the absence of proper security,” the commission report further said.
Also Read: RCB issues an official statement after stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium kills fans
Chinnaswamy Stadium To Host Maharaja T20 League
The Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the upcoming edition of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 League. The venue will host all 34 matches as per the original schedule. The tournament will be played from August 11 to 28. As per reports, the tournament has not received any warnings against hosting the matches at the venue.
Also Read: After Chinnaswamy Chaos, BCCI Planning to Rethink Post-IPL Celebrations
