BJP MLA Siddharth Parmar stages protest to shift IPL matches from Rajkot

After PIL filed against BCCI seeking to shift the IPL matches out of Maharashtra and Bengaluru, members of Rashtriya Dalit Maha Sangh, led by former BJP MLA Siddharth Parmar, today staged a dharna in Rajkot. They opposed the IPL matches which is to be held at Khandheri stadium citing water scarcity in the city and other areas in Gujarat. Parmar and his supporters staged the sit-in near Ambedkar statue at Civil Hospital circle.

The newly-built stadium at Khandheri is managed by Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) and will be hosting five IPL matches, starting from April 14.

Siddharth Parmar said that farmers in the states are committing suicide due to shortage of water and demanded that the IPL matches should be shifted somewhere else

“Farmers are committing suicide because of shortage of water for crops. At the same time thousands of gallons of water would be wasted to maintain cricket pitches and grounds,” Parmar said.

“The cricketers should be ashamed that they are only interested in making money. They don’t have any feelings for the farmers. We demand that all the IPL matches to be played here should be shifted elsewhere,” said Parmar.

Rajkot has been facing a severe water shortage since the beginning of April. With major dams providing water to the city drying up, Rajkot Municipal Corporation recently imposed a water cut once every fortnight.

SCA, however, said Gujarat’s water crisis was not as bad as in the neighbouring Maharashtra (where a PIL has already been filed in the Bombay High Court opposing the IPL matches).

“Water crisis in Gujarat is not as bad as that in Maharashtra. Rajkot is also not facing any acute water shortage at present. We don’t use drinking water supplied by RMC to maintain our ground. We have our own system to meet our water demand. We never waste water or use more than what is required to maintain the ground,” said SCA secretary Niranjan Shah.

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