Disastrous Ranji match wakes up Bihar govt — from stadium repair to new sports department
On Thursday, the state government also decided to create a full-fledged sports department, which had ceased to exist after Jharkhand and Bihar split in 2000.
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A notice cautioning visitors against using the damaged gallery area; a rough patch of the field at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna. Nagendra Kumar SinghWhen Mumbai and Bihar faced off for a Ranji Trophy fixture at Patna’s Moin-ul-Haq stadium on January 6, neither the players nor the crowd could have anticipated the sort of impact the match would have.
The stadium, hosting a significant fixture after 27 years, was barely ready for one — some parts were under construction, others undergoing repair, and visitors were welcomed by overgrown grass in the seating area. Even the scoreboard was not clearly visible from all parts of the ground.
With images from the match causing embarrassment to the state government, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav visited the stadium on Friday. “We are aware of the people’s grouse over the poor condition of the stadium… We have prepared a detailed project report for the structure,” Tejasjwi said, adding that as a sportsman himself, he could relate to the situation.
“The CM has directed me to monitor the renovation work. We plan to make it an international stadium with a sports complex, a five-star hotel, restaurant, drainage system and parking lot with connectivity to the upcoming Patna Metro,” he added.
On Thursday, the state government also decided to create a full-fledged sports department, which had ceased to exist after Jharkhand and Bihar split in 2000.
The new department will have Jitendra Rai as minister and B Rajinder as secretary.
A senior government official said, “Though there had been talks about revamping Moin-ul-Haq stadium, the immediate trigger is the national embarrassment.”
The poor infrastructure was not the only reason the stadium was in news – on the first match of the season, two teams, each claiming to represent Bihar, had turned up for the game against Mumbai. As the in-fighting between two factions of Bihar Cricket Association spilled over to the ground, there were heated exchanges and a minor scuffle between officials at the start of the game. Eventually, it was the intervention of the local police that got the Bihar-Mumbai season-opener to start around 11 am.
Of the two teams that reached the ground early in the morning, the one picked by the BCA president Rakesh Tiwary played the game. The other, which had the blessings of secretary Amit Kumar, was left high and dry.
Constructed in 1969 and originally called Rajinder Nagar stadium, it was named after general secretary of the Indian Olympic Association Moin-ul-Haq after his death. The stadium, with a capacity of 25,000, has hosted only five international matches so far — the last one being between Zimbabwe and Kenya in 1996.
“Moin-ul-Haq Stadium and sports in Bihar in general have fallen prey to long-drawn politics after the Bihar Cricket Association lost its affiliation with the BCCI,” Bihar players association chief Mrityunjay Tiwari said.
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