IPL 2017: CAB, KKR take initiative to make Eden Gardens plastic free

With a 66 thousand plus seating capacity, Eden Gardens is the largest cricket stadium in India and the second largest cricket stadium in the world behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Also called as the “Cricket’s answer to the Colosseum” it is acknowledged to be one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. The stadium got its name from the Eden Gardens, one of the oldest parks in Kolkata which is situated adjacent to the stadium.

It held its first Test match way back in 1934 and its first One Day International (ODI) in 1984. Over the years it has hosted matches in major competitions which include the World Cup, World Twenty20 and Asia Cup. The highest ever ODI individual score of 264 by India’s opener Rohit Sharma was made on this very ground against Sri Lanka in 2014.

The iconic venue of Eden Gardens will now be going plastic free, owing to an environment-friendly initiative taken by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the local IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). A company which works on reducing environmental pollution has now been assigned the responsibility to find out ways of making Eden Gardens plastic and pollution free. Even though the stadium is a pride not only to Kolkata but also to the Indian cricket, the amount of waste it generates is a serious concern to be dealt with.

Fighting the menace of plastic

In a bid to fight with this issue, the CAB and KKR have had several meetings through the ongoing IPL season. “We were trying to find out ways to combat the environmental pollution. Let’s see what results we get from the initiatives we are going to implement,” said Subir Ganguly, the joint secretary of the CAB.

The local team KKR has also engaged an NGO to discover the reasons and methods to reduce pollution. The NGO had been asked to submit a detailed report after the IPL games that were held at Eden Gardens.

“We have already gathered information regarding the wastes left behind in Eden Gardens. We would suggest use of paper carry bags instead of plastic carry bags. We are aiming to make it a practice to use environment-friendly products inside the cricket stadium,” said Amrita Chatterjee, an official of the NGO.

One of the owners of the franchise from Kolkata, actress Juhi Chawla, said: “We are trying to make all possible attempts to make Eden pollution free. To keep the stadium clean, KKR has donated 60 dustbins.”

After the end of seven IPL matches, a total of 4,514 kg paper waste and 3,780 kg plastic waste has been collected from Eden Gardens.