The Lahore incident has proved that terrorists are no cricket lovers as was told by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan. Terror spares no one. That it has happened much before the IPL has made the authorities think very seriously about the security arrangements. Given the professional management that was witnessed in the first edition of the IPL, there is no reason to feel that they would not beef up the security in the tournaments commencing next month.
Though the IPL has to have the security clearance from the various state governments, it would be foolish to rely totally on the various states’ security measures. Had the security measures of the states in combating the deadly attacks been perfect, a lot many lives would not have been lost. It is not a criticism of the state’s security but a fact that not all forces of the states are adequately trained and that is a major worry.
Not only the IPL will have to engage the state security at a phenomenal cost but all their demands will have to be met without having the liberty to waive off costs if they fail. This is where the IPL has decided to involve a professional security agency and as Lalit Modi said will be paid more to ensure all aspects of the security are covered.
It was in 1983 that the Kolhapur Cricket Association in Maharashtra was asked to hold the West Indies’ West Zone match. Though the association had no previous experience of managing foreign teams, the core committee of former India players Madhav Mantri, Polly Umrigar and Bapu Nadkarni all experienced administrators decided to involve the Territorial Army Battalion from Belgaum.
Despite the fact that there was no threat of terrorists, they ensured that no person without any security clearance was allowed either near hotel or in the ground. In fact, the Mayor of the town too was not spared. The state security would not have been able to stop the politicians the way Battalion personnel did.
There is a need to enforce confidence building exercise within the security agency appointed by the IPL. If the security measures are publicised, the people and the foreign cricketers will not react on heresy. Giving assurances and making security plans public are two different things. The Pakistan Cricket Board assured state-level security to Sri Lankan team but when the team attacked, there was no security in the bus.
It is going to be a Herculean task for Lalit Modi and his band of committed workers. It will be a tension-filled forty days for them. The Home Ministry having given the permission will be equally concerned about the security and the IPL security forces will have to work closely with the state security so that in the eventuality of terrorist attack, both the agencies are in a position to effectively combat it.
No comments:
Post a Comment