People opening their homes to Pakistani cricket fans, hotels attracting Muslim clients with prayer mats and shrines offering to accommodate people — this is how this town is preparing to greet hundreds of Pakistanis coming to witness a Test match.
The Test, the first game of the upcoming series between India and Pakistan, will be played on March 8-12. Nearly 10,000 Pakistani spectators are expected to arrive at Mohali from March 5.
An appeal by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) to residents of Mohali - about 10 km from Chandigarh - to come forward to accommodate the unusually high number of Pakistani guests has met with a good response.
"Our office has had several telephone calls and people have come personally to offer accommodation and other help," said PCA treasurer G.S. Walia.
The PCA has now asked people to give their offers in writing and to detail how much accommodation they can offer so that the Pakistanis can be comfortably settled.
Gurdwaras and other institutions are not only offering accommodation but are also ready to provide food to the visitors through their 'langars', or community kitchens.
{{/usCountry}}Gurdwaras and other institutions are not only offering accommodation but are also ready to provide food to the visitors through their 'langars', or community kitchens.
{{/usCountry}}Tour operators are working out packages for Pakistanis to visit places like Delhi, Shimla and other nearby tourist destinations. "Some Pakistanis might like to visit their ancestral places in India and we will facilitate that," said a tour operator.
Mohali's leading hotel Aroma is offering prayer mats and other facilities for Muslim guests staying there.
PCA officials said it was not only common people but also VIPs who had come forward with offers.
The association has booked rooms in several hotels in Mohali and adjoining state capital Chandigarh to accommodate the Pakistanis.
A number of individuals and institutions have also come forward with various plans to show the traditional Punjabi warmth to the Pakistanis.
"We want to reciprocate for what the Pakistanis did for visiting Indians during the series in Pakistan last year," said industrialist A. Aggarwal.
During a one-day cricket match here between India and Pakistan in 1999, the PCA organised a community lunch for all Pakistani spectators. Nearly 7,500 Pakistanis had then travelled to India.
This time, the PCA has created a separate enclosure at Mohali stadium with adequate security for Pakistani spectators.