Mumbai: Owing to alleged poor management by organisers, nearly 1,200 Navi Mumbai police personnel on security duty (bandobast) for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup’s matches at Dr DY Patil Stadium have faced difficulty in getting access to drinking water ever since the tournament began on Friday.
Monday saw two matches at the venue — between Turkey and Mali at 5 pm, and New Zealand and Paraguay at 8 pm — while there were two matches on Friday too.
Thousands of sports fans have been visiting the stadium to view the matches, which take place from 5 pm to 10 pm.
One of the constables, said on a condition of anonymity, “There are more than 1,200 police officers standing on bandobast, excluding the traffic police. It’s not practical for us to carry a bag containing water bottles and snacks while standing and patrolling. We would appreciate it if we got something as basic drinking water while standing for more than eight hours.” He added, “On the first day we weren’t offered either snacks or water. We had finished the water that we had carried in two to three hours, but in spite of sending messages to the organisers to arrange for water, we didn’t receive a drop.”
However, DCP Zone 1, Navi Mumbai, Sudhakar Pathare said, “There was some problem at initial stage, but later the organisers managed things well. They provided lunch, snacks and water as well as cold drinks.” Despite contacting the organisers, the local FIFA committee, no comment on the policemen’s complaints was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
A police sub-inspector at the venue told The Asian Age, “It is our duty to remain standing for several hours in the hot sun or heavy rain. But we, at least, deserve water and some refreshments. We had sent several messages to the organiser. After six hours of standing we got some degraded rice, which was not enough for all of us.”
