VADODARA, NOV 2: For years the Mongia house in Jetalpur stood for excellence to neighbours. After all, the wicket-keeper-batsman had not only brought laurels to the country and state but had also given the locality an identity. But with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report on match fixing out his image in the locality seems to be gradually fading. No longer do people have the respect and awe they felt for him.The residents are shocked and there are still some who find it hard to digest the report. But most of them are angry and feel deceived. Though it is still not clear as to how much weight the report carries, residents seem to have given their verdict. ``He should not have played with the sentiments of millions of people,'' is the obvious reaction here.As Nayan Mongia remained incommunicado to the press here (his family members say he is away in Mumbai), the neighbourhood is all talking about the ugly side of cricket, more specifically of Mongia. ``Even if the evidences collected by the CBI do not hold water in the court of law but the fact that Azhar named him as one of the accused is really shattering for us. We use to feel proud that he was part of Jetalpur but not now,'' commented a resident, Tapan Dey.The hero of the locality has fallen overnight. ``If his guilt is proved the punishment should be more severe than what is given to the murder accused. He has betrayed us and more than anyone else it is a shame for the resident of Jetalpur,'' fumed Sapana, a businesswoman staying in Jetalpur.Though a deafening silence has fell over the house of Mongia, in the neighbourhood residents are talking about the CBI report. ``Ever since the media reports came in yesterday the entire locality is talking about it. It is more painful for us as Mongia is part of the locality and we have been interacting with him frequently,'' said a resident.When the Income Tax department had exempted Mongia house from the raids it conducted recently, the residents had heaved a sigh of relief. ``Initially, the media reports had suggested that his house had been raided but when it was clarified by family members we were happy. We thought that Mongia cannot do something like this. But the indictment by CBI has come as a shock to us,'' said another resident, R. Sreenivas.What has further incensed the residents is the consistent denials issued by the wicket-keeper-batsman ever since his name cropped up in the match fixing scandal. ``Why did he hide it from the authorities so long. Had he made voluntary disclosures as done by Hansie Cronjie we would not have felt cheated,'' commented a resident.The shadow of the report has also cast its spell over the local cricketing circles here. In fact, at a league match of a local club cricket tournament held at the Alembic ground on Wednesday, cricketers were more engrossed in discussing the CBI report than concentrating on cricket. ``It is really bad. Players like Mongia have made Barodians feel proud but everything seems to have changed since Tuesday. What will be the impact on the young cricketers from Vadodara who are aspiring to make it to the national scene?'' asked a player.With the report now being made public residents are eager to know how the tainted players will be punished, how will they be made to pay for their wrongdoing?But one thing is clear: Jetalpur will look upon Mongia differently.
