IPL and the Theatre of the Absurd
Mr Tawde of BJP in Mumbai has opposed the holding of matches in Pune and Mumbai. He says that since the state is currently facing the worst draught in 30 years, the use of water to maintain the pitch/ ground is wasteful.
He has a point, but coming from the MLA of a party whose President Mr Gadkari was recently exposed in a series of murky deals, some of them allegedly involving illegal exploitation of community water resources, it looks like a political stunt to get brownie points.
The Congress and NCP which are joint partners in the ruling coalition have predictably come with a response. They say that the grounds have to be anyway maintained (which is true) and that Mumbai and Pune have no water shortage, which is also true. But there is a problem here. Mumbai and Pune indeed have no water shortage.
What is not widely known however is that water for these 2 cities is piped in from dams built in surrounding areas. These dams have displaced tribals from their lands and they have yet to receive any rehabilitation support from the government. So the Pune and Mumbai aam aadmi showers at the expense of the tribals who have now become non aadmi s. (In a recent TV debate I saw Amartya Sen make this point. In India , the aam aadmi tag has been hijacked by the urban middle class from its rightful owners i.e. the poor in rual and urban areas.)
Please also remember, the NCP (through Mr Pawar) , has a huge stake in the IPL and he always has available the services of the pot-bellied Rajiv Shukla Congress Rajya Sabha MP.
Not to be outdone , the Sena (I don t know which one, Shiv Sena or MNS) has demanded than IPL should donate Rs 500 cr to Maharashtra for the draught. After all why should the Sena be left out when everyone is having a (cricket) ball !! I am sure this idea is receiving serious consideration from NCP. It has 2 advantages. The IPL can ask for (and will surely get) tax exemption and the money when allotted for irrigation can be pocketed by Congress/ NCP leaders. Even BJP might get a share considering the cordial relations between the heads of the 2 parties. Only the Sena will not directly receive any monetary compensation
Then there is the Srilankan player mess. People are saying don t mix politics with sports. Come on guys , be realistic. The successive heads of BCCI in the last 20 years have been all politicians& and the same for many other apex sports bodies ( remember Kalmadi ?). So how can one NOT mix politics with sports !!
Mr Tawde of BJP in Mumbai has opposed the holding of matches in Pune and Mumbai. He says that since the state is currently facing the worst draught in 30 years, the use of water to maintain the pitch/ ground is wasteful.
He has a point, but coming from the MLA of a party whose President Mr Gadkari was recently exposed in a series of murky deals, some of them allegedly involving illegal exploitation of community water resources, it looks like a political stunt to get brownie points.
The Congress and NCP which are joint partners in the ruling coalition have predictably come with a response. They say that the grounds have to be anyway maintained (which is true) and that Mumbai and Pune have no water shortage, which is also true. But there is a problem here. Mumbai and Pune indeed have no water shortage.
What is not widely known however is that water for these 2 cities is piped in from dams built in surrounding areas. These dams have displaced tribals from their lands and they have yet to receive any rehabilitation support from the government. So the Pune and Mumbai aam aadmi showers at the expense of the tribals who have now become non aadmi s. (In a recent TV debate I saw Amartya Sen make this point. In India , the aam aadmi tag has been hijacked by the urban middle class from its rightful owners i.e. the poor in rual and urban areas.)
Please also remember, the NCP (through Mr Pawar) , has a huge stake in the IPL and he always has available the services of the pot-bellied Rajiv Shukla Congress Rajya Sabha MP.
Not to be outdone , the Sena (I don t know which one, Shiv Sena or MNS) has demanded than IPL should donate Rs 500 cr to Maharashtra for the draught. After all why should the Sena be left out when everyone is having a (cricket) ball !! I am sure this idea is receiving serious consideration from NCP. It has 2 advantages. The IPL can ask for (and will surely get) tax exemption and the money when allotted for irrigation can be pocketed by Congress/ NCP leaders. Even BJP might get a share considering the cordial relations between the heads of the 2 parties. Only the Sena will not directly receive any monetary compensation
Then there is the Srilankan player mess. People are saying don t mix politics with sports. Come on guys , be realistic. The successive heads of BCCI in the last 20 years have been all politicians& and the same for many other apex sports bodies ( remember Kalmadi ?). So how can one NOT mix politics with sports !!
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