Win cricket contest, take home petrol… unique Kerala protest takes the pitch

The tournament is being held in Mudamkulam in Kasaragod district on April 29 as a part of the party’s local unit meeting. (Representational)

When prices skyrocket, essential commodities get treated as luxury items. In India, we have seen that with onions and tomatoes every year. But today, if people were asked what’s the most expensive essential commodity in the market, their eyes would turn most likely to fuel stations. A litre of petrol in Kerala today costs Rs 78.61, whereas in cities like Mumbai where its a whopping Rs 81.94 per litre.

A unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), a Left-aligned youth wing, which has never missed an opportunity to criticise the Narendra Modi-led administration in Kasaragod district of Kerala, has now announced a local cricket tournament, the winners of which will receive 1.5 litres of petrol as the prize. The local DYFI leadership has positioned the tournament as a form of protest against the central government’s decisions on fuel prices.

The tournament is being held in Mudamkulam in Kasaragod district on April 29 as a part of the party’s local unit meeting. It will be symbolically inaugurated by an autorickshaw driver, who are the worst-affected by the fuel price hike.

Unlike international cricket matches, this tournament will only see teams with six members each playing on a small ground where scoring is limited to one side of the pitch. If a batsman hits the ball to the stone quarry located nearby, he will be deemed out. Leg before wicket is not permissible. A poster of the party sarcastically adds that if petrol prices continue to soar, there could be a change in the amount of petrol awarded as the prize.