Sports Minister Furious With HCA Over Gymkhana Grounds Stampede

Expressing ire at the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) over the stampede at the Gymkhana Grounds in Secunderabad for tickets for the upcoming T20 cricket match between India and Australia on September 25, Minister for Sports Srinivas Goud warned that the State government would not hesitate to take stringent action against the HCA if the brand of Hyderabad was dented.

Goud held a review meeting with officials, the police and HCA representatives at Ravindra Bharathi and expressed disappointment over the "apathy" of the HCA authorities who he claimed had failed to take adequate measures to provide the proper information to the people about the issuance of tickets.

He said that issuing the tickets just two days before the match and not disclosing the details of the venue and time of selling the tickets showed complete negligence on the part of the HCA.

"You should have started issuing the tickets a week before. Till Wednesday night, there was no information about where the tickets were going to be issued for the match. Because of your negligence a stampede-like situation happened at the Gymkhana Grounds, and the police had a tough time controlling the crowds. These resulted in a law and order situation as well as the denting of Hyderabad's image," Goud told HCA president Mohammed Azharuddin, who took part in the meeting.