While the 40,000 people enjoyed the kabbadi world cup grand finale at the Guru Nanak Stadium on Saturday, those outside the stadium bore the brunt of poor arrangements and lack of foresight of the authorities.
While police lathicharged unruly fans gathered outside the stadium in the
evening, commuters in various parts of the city were stuck in jams — courtesy the detours made because of the presence of VVIPs in the city.
Though the police termed its action as necessary to control the increasing number of people outside the stadium, those who were on the receiving end said the police were to blame for making poor arrangements.
“I and my friends had come to see the final match and though, we were not creating a ruckus, the policemen began the lathicharge,” Jagdeep Singh, a spectator, said.
Besides this, commuters and city residents were inconvenienced by traffic jams caused because of the arrangements made for the kabaddi world cup final.
Traffic came to a standstill at Mall Road, Ferozepur Road, Ghumar Mandi, Jagraon Bridge and surrounding areas.
Rattanjit Singh, a commuter said it took him 20 minutes to cover a kilometre. “The authorities should have at least used some thought to ensure the people did not suffer,” he said.