Choked roads, power cuts likely irritants

S.A.S NAGAR, March 30: Although the Punjab Cricket Association will laugh all the way to the bank after the Indo-Pak match on April 1, Mo...

S.A.S NAGAR, March 30: Although the Punjab Cricket Association will laugh all the way to the bank after the Indo-Pak match on April 1, Mohali residents have mixed feelings. Recarpeted roads, working streetlights and overall cleanliness have warmed their hearts but the prospect of traffic snarls, power cuts and the general hungama that invariably accompanies VVIP events is not welcome.

quot;No hassle,quot; says Prabhakar Shukla of Phase X. This executive in a private firm, quot;the alternate routes for us are all worked out. Everybody8217;s excited about the match so what8217;s to complain about? I just hope security is foolproof and nothing bad happens.quot;

Businessman Harwant Matharu who lives in Phase X just across the road from the stadium, says that holding the match is quot;a great honour for Mohaliquot; and he8217;s ready to tolerate inconveniences such as closing of roads the since quot;a lot of maintenance has been done. All I say is the police should take care to direct traffic and provide proper diversionsquot;.

Another Phase X resident, senior bank executive Rajinder Pal Singh also grumbles about traffic restrictions and power breakdowns but likes the road recarpeting and all the spit and polish. quot;Unruly crowds around the stadium can also make life hell but these matches are just once in a while so it8217;s okay.quot;

Army Captain Simarpreet Singh Cheema thinks quot;this is the best thing that could have happened to the country!quot; and he says that he quot;prays this friendship blooms and prospers from strength to strength.quot;

Darbara Singh, an employee of a Phase X shop has only one shikhwah and it8217;s not traffic or crowds or the VVIP nuisance. What bugs him is the blackmarketing. quot;Why can8217;t that be curbed?quot; he demands.

Pankaj Kulshreshta lives in the Phase X Housefed Complex in Phase X which traffic management for the match has turned into an inaccessible island all day on April 1. quot;Every time a match is played I just have to forget about going anywhere. The last couple of times I couldn8217;t even watch the match on TV because all the lights in the PCA stadium were burning at our cost. Our power was shut off.quot;

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All five of the Phase IX residents whose views Newsline sought, refused to comment, despite the fact that they have the stadium literally next door. quot;What8217;s the use?quot; one of them griped, quot;We complained last time but no one cared about the inconvenience caused to us.quot;