The fourth T20 international match between India and Australia is scheduled to take place today at Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium. However, just a few hours before the crucial game, it has been revealed that parts of the stadium are currently without electricity. The reason behind this inconvenience is an unpaid electricity bill dating back to 2009.
The stadium currently has an outstanding bill of Rs 3.16 crore, which resulted in the electricity connection being cut off five years ago. In order to accommodate spectators, a temporary connection was installed at the request of the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association. However, this temporary arrangement only covers the gallery and boxes, leaving the floodlights reliant on a generator for the match today.
Ashok Khandelwal, the Raipur Rural Circle in-charge, confirmed that the Secretary Cricket Association has applied to increase the capacity of the temporary connection at the stadium. Currently, the capacity stands at 200 KV, but an upgrade to 1 thousand KV has been approved. However, work on this upgrade has not yet commenced.
This is not the first time the stadium has faced issues due to the unpaid electricity bill. In 2018, during a half-marathon event, athletes were left without electricity supply, leading to an uproar. It was then revealed that the outstanding bill amounted to Rs 3.16 crore, which had accumulated since 2009.
The maintenance of the stadium was handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) after its construction, while the remaining expenses were to be covered by the Sports Department. Both departments have been blaming each other for the unpaid power bill. Despite several notices from the electricity company, no payment has been made yet.
Tarunesh Singh Parihar, the media coordinator of the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, expressed skepticism about hosting international matches in the future due to these ongoing issues. He mentioned that for major matches, generators are used as an alternative arrangement.
As the match approaches, the stakeholders are eagerly waiting for a resolution to this electricity problem.
