Chaos reigns as Pakistani fans arrive
Midnight blues came to the fore as Pakistani spectators arriving to watch the first Test scrambled for hotels and other accommodation.
Midnight blues came to the fore as hundreds of Pakistani spectators arriving to watch the India-Pakistan match scrambled for hotels and other accommodation.
Chandigarh — the joint capital Punjab and Haryana — largely remained indifferent to the arrival of the Pakistani guests for the 'friendship cricket series' between India and Pakistan, though some residents did open up their homes and hearths for the visitors.
As one after another busload of Pakistani spectators, coming for the first Test match between India and Pakistan starting at Mohali from Tuesday, trickled in on Sunday evening, chaos prevailed at the Sector 16 cricket stadium.
The cricket stadium — once the venue of international matches and the training ground of former Indian captain Kapil Dev but discarded after the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) set up its own facility at nearby Mohali — was converted into a camp office to register arrivals and send the visitors to a variety of accommodations.
Many Pakistani spectators — coming to India for the first time — said they were being offered free accommodation in school hostels and other buildings run by social organisations whereas they wanted individual rooms with attached bathrooms.
The hotel and guesthouse rooms were taken up quickly by the first arrivals who crossed over from the Wagah border between the two countries.
"Most rooms were gone by 9 pm. The remaining ones were those in the range of Rs.2,000-3,000 per day. Not many wanted rooms at that cost," said a tourism department official.
"Let's spend the night in whatever accommodation they give. We will find a good one tomorrow (Monday) ourselves or befriend people who will accommodate us," one Pakistani youngster was overheard telling his four friends.
Except for the activity at the stadium, there were hardly any people to welcome the guests. But most of the Pakistani spectators seemed satisfied with the fact that they had arrived in Chandigarh.
