India-South Africa T20I: Security mock drill held at Barabati Stadium ahead of crucial clash

With the iconic Barabati stadium all set to host the second T20 International between India and South Africa on June 12, a mock drill was conducted on the ground in Cuttack on Thursday. 

The Commissionerate police carried out the exercise at the stadium to check the preparedness in case of any eventuality. Police, fire services, security personnel, Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) team, bomb disposal squad, medical team and Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) officials took part in the mock drill as part of the preparations to tackle any possible hostile situation. Sniffer dogs were also pressed into action to find any suspected object near the stadium.

Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi reached the stadium to review the mock drill and took stock of the security preparedness for the international match.

“We are conducting mock drills mainly on five simulated exercises to tackle any kind of exigencies. We are getting prepared to tackle eventualities like fire incident, collapse of any part of the stadium, subversive activity, any kind of law and order situation and identification of any suspicious object near the stadium,” said Priyadarshi after reviewing the security preparedness at the stadium.

South Africa is scheduled to play a 5-match T20 series in India from June 9 to 19.  The online ticket booking for the Barabati match has commenced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Orissa High Court on Wednesday seeking cancellation of the match . The petition was filed by one Sanjay Nayak of Bhuban in Dhenkanal district. Nayak alleged that Barabati stadium does not have adequate fire safety measures and sought the court’s direction to cancel the match. The Odisha government, BCCI and 13 others have been made respondents to the case.