Following one of the sad events on June 4, Bengaluru’s famous M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is frequently hailed as the centre of Karnataka cricket, is about to reopen its gates for competitive cricket. The venue will host matches of the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) famous K Thimmappiah Memorial Trophy for the first time since the stampede catastrophe that killed 11 people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) celebrations of their IPL win. Fans won’t be permitted inside the stadium, though.
When RCB won their first IPL title, a huge crowd of supporters rushed to the stadium to celebrate. Eleven people were killed and over fifty injured in a fatal stampede caused by the size of the crowd and poor gate management.
Later, a government-commissioned investigation found that the Chinnaswamy Stadium was unsafe for major gatherings due to structural and crowd-control issues.
Following the incident, the RCB first said nothing but later promised financial assistance, while the KSCA was criticised. Authorities were compelled by the incident to reconsider the stadium’s viability for hosting important events, which resulted in limitations and even the loss of the venue’s ability to host the Maharaja Trophy and multiple Women’s World Cup matches.
Recently, RCB revealed an updated compensation plan for the families of the fatalities.
The K Thimmappiah Memorial Trophy, a red-ball preseason competition involving 16 teams, including Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, and Himachal, is scheduled to return to the venue in cricket despite the continuous monitoring. The competition is expected to include well-known Indian athletes including Vijay Shankar, Hanuma Vihari, Venkatesh Iyer, and Ajinkya Rahane. Six games, including a semi-final and the final on September 26, will take place at the stadium.
All games will take place behind closed doors in accordance with safety regulations. Due to a BESCOM power outage, the KSCA is currently reliant on generators and solar power and is still dealing with compliance difficulties, including fire safety rules.
In the meantime, RCB has revealed an updated compensation plan for the relatives of the fatalities. Along with a long-term commitment to enhancing crowd safety and helping fans, the franchise has promised INR 25 lakh to each grieving family under their new program, RCB Cares.
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