11 January,2013 06:28 AM IST | | Chetna Sadadekar
The management of MIG club, Bandra (East), got the shock of their lives when they found 500 feet of boundary wall being demolished by the BMC on Wednesday morning reportedly for the widening of the Ramkrishna Parmahans Road. This comes right before the ICC Women's World Cup slated to begin on January 27. To top it all, the MIG club is one of the main hosting clubs for the tournament, along with Wankhede Stadium, BKC, and CCI.
The compound wall of MIG Cricket Club, Bandra (East) that was demolished on Wednesday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
The practice matches for the tournament are set to begin from January 27. However with this unexpected issue the management will have to pull out all stops and make sure that the boundary wall, now to be made around two feet into the ground, is ready in 15 days. The wall, which generally takes about a month to construct, will cost around Rs 20 lakh.
This is not the first time that the MIG club and the BMC have locked horns. The two bodies have been involved in many tussles over land since over a decade. Predictably, the management is unhappy with the action taken by the BMC. The civic body had served the club a notice regarding the demolition in late September last year. According to the club management, in reply, they had informed the BMC about the tournament and requested them to postpone the demolition until after the matches. However, the corporation did not accept their plea.
The 500-ft section of the MIG Club boundary wall was razed by BMC for road widening on Wednesday morning. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
"This was very unfair on the part of the civic body. Many international teams will be playing on this ground in less than 20 days. How will it look without a boundary wall?" questioned Pravin Barve, chairman of the club. "Now, apart from ensuring safety of the players, we will also have to worry about restoring the international standards of the ground and the club, as before the demolition."
According to the management, if the wall is not constructed in time, 10-ft-high iron sheets will be put up instead. If needed, additional security also will be provided during the matches. According to ICC standards, the boundary should be 60 to 65 yards away from the pitch. The boundary at MIG Club is 75 yards away from the pitch.
On the other side, the civic body is standing firm on its act. Ward Officer of the H-East ward M D Pimpale claims that there was no written communication from the club and the BMC was not informed about the matches. "Earlier, when we had given them the permission to build the wall, it was told to them that even though the wall was on club land, it would be demolished during the road widening work," he said. "We were not informed about any international matches to be played this month. I received a call from the management only after the demolition was carried out."
Match highlights
Two group matches will be played on the MIG Club ground on February 4 and 5, followed by two Super Six matches on February 9 and 11.
Feb 4, 5, 9, 11
Match days
Rs 20 lakh
Cost to rebuild the wall
