India gov't promises security for home cricket tournament due next month
NEW DELHI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government has promised to cover security for the staging of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament next month, after security concerns heightened following the attack upon Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Pakistan last week, said local media Saturday.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday security will be provided for the high-profile cricket event to be kicked off though some "re-jigging" of schedules seems unavoidable, because of the timing overlap with the country's parliament polls to start next month.
Chidambaram had earlier hinted the government was finding it difficult in providing para-military forces for the matches during polling days.
In response, the IPL organizers told the government that they do not require any central paramilitary forces for the security and will hire private security agents on their own.
After consulting with local governments hosting the matches, the home minister told the media Friday "nobody need worry about playing cricket in India" although some re-scheduling of IPL matches "seems unavoidable".
The 45-day tournament is due to begin April 10 and ends May 24 after 60 matches are played among eight teams in eight cities, overlapping with parliamentary polls from April 16 to May 13.
The IPL said a postponement of the event is not possible due to the contractual obligations of the foreign players to their respective cricket boards.
Television rights issue is another problem as there are not slots available this year to host the event if it is postponed. This could cause huge losses for the franchisees.
The extremely popular tournament is the most important sports extravaganza for India and is expected to draw tens of millions of fans in front of television sets and in stadiums.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday security will be provided for the high-profile cricket event to be kicked off though some "re-jigging" of schedules seems unavoidable, because of the timing overlap with the country's parliament polls to start next month.
Chidambaram had earlier hinted the government was finding it difficult in providing para-military forces for the matches during polling days.
In response, the IPL organizers told the government that they do not require any central paramilitary forces for the security and will hire private security agents on their own.
After consulting with local governments hosting the matches, the home minister told the media Friday "nobody need worry about playing cricket in India" although some re-scheduling of IPL matches "seems unavoidable".
The 45-day tournament is due to begin April 10 and ends May 24 after 60 matches are played among eight teams in eight cities, overlapping with parliamentary polls from April 16 to May 13.
The IPL said a postponement of the event is not possible due to the contractual obligations of the foreign players to their respective cricket boards.
Television rights issue is another problem as there are not slots available this year to host the event if it is postponed. This could cause huge losses for the franchisees.
The extremely popular tournament is the most important sports extravaganza for India and is expected to draw tens of millions of fans in front of television sets and in stadiums.
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