Don’t hold IPL matches in state,says Tawde

BJP MLC and leader of the opposition in the council Vinod Tawde Sunday asked IPL organisers to either postpone the event or move the matches out of the state due to drought. Sixteen IPL matches are scheduled at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Sahara Stadium in Pune. “I have been told that close to 60,000 litres of water is used to maintain a cricket ground every day. During the IPL season from April 9 to May 15,around 21.6 lakh litres of water will be used in a single ground in Maharashtra,” Tawde said in a letter to IPL Commissioner Rajeev Shukla.

While acknowledging the IPL matches would help the state government earn revenue,he asked whether it would be appropriate to “waste” so much water in organising IPL matches when several parts of the state are facing drought.