Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia has said that the organisers should have done better while planning the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) victory parade on Wednesday, June 4.
Tragedy struck on what should’ve been a day of celebration as the Bengaluru police couldn’t handle the large crowds outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, leading to a stampede in which 11 people died.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who met the players at the Vidhana Soudha as the tragedy unfolded, admitted in a press conference later that the organisers had not expected the crowds to turn up in such large numbers.
“It is very unfortunate.”“This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better. My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. I wish early recovery of the injured,” Saikia said.
“When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions, safety and security measures need to be taken. There have been some lapses somewhere. After such a glorious ending to the IPL, this has been an anti climax. There have been IPL celebrations in the past as well, like in Kolkata last year when KKR won but nothing happened there.” Saikia also cited the examples of the celebrations in Mumbai following India’s T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados.
